NOTES 


ON 


Doctrinal  and  Spiritual 
Subjects, 


BY 

FREDERICK  WILLIA  d   FABER,  D.  D. 

PRIEST  OF  THE  OEATOKY  OF  ST.  PHILIP  NEKI. 


4  J>6iunctus  adLuc  loquitur." — Heb.  zi  i. 

VOL.  I. 
MYSTERIES  AND  FESTIVALS. 


FOURTH  THOUSAND. 


JOHN  MURPHY   COMPANY, 

PUBLISHERS. 

BALTIMORE,  MD. :  NEW  YORK: 

200  W.  LOMBARD  STREET.  70  FIFTH  AVENUE. 


RPH 


NOTES 


ON 


DOCTRINAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  SUBJECTS, 

VOL.L 


TO 

ANNE,  DUCHESS  OF  ARGYLL, 


ABE  RESPECTFULLY   DEDICATED 
IN  REMEMBRANCE  OF  HER  FRIENDSHIP  FOR 

THE  AUTHOR 

AND  WITH  A  GRATEFUL  SENSE   OF  HER   MANY  KINDNESSES 
TO   THE 

CONGREGATION  OF  THE  ORATORY. 


PREFACE. 


DURING  the  two  years  which  have  elapsed  since  Father 
Faber's  death,  the  question  has  been  frequently  asked, 
whether  any  manuscripts  had  been  left  by  him  for 
publication.  Although  no  completed  works  were  found 
among  his  papers,  it  has  been  thought  advisable  that  a 
selection  should  be  made  from  them,  and  published 
in  continuation  of  the  works  which  have  already 
appeared.  The  extensive  circulation  to  which  his 
writings  have  attained  in  England,  and  still  more  upon 
the  continent,  seemed  to  warrant  the  hope  that  the 
publication  of  such  of  his  manuscripts  as  would  admit 
of  it  would  be  welcome  to  those  who  have  found  in 
his  former  works  a  source  of  spiritual  profit. 

The  contents  of  these  volumes  have  consequently 
been  selected  from  a  large  mass  of  miscellaneous 
papers.  It  is  not,  however,  without  some  diffidence 
that  the  results  of  the  selection  are  now  published,  as 
they  consist  entirely  of  notes,  which  in  their  present 
form  were  not  meant  to  be  made  public.  They  have 
been  left  for  the  most  part  in  the  unfinished  state  in 

vii 


viii  PREFACE. 

which  they  were  found :  as  it  has  been  thought  better 
to  let  them  appear  incomplete  than  to  give  them 
another  form  by  alterations  which  might  expose  the 
Author's  meaning  to  misinterpretation.  They  will  be 
judged,  not  by  themselves  alone  in  their  fragmentary 
character,  but  in  connection  with  the  many  complete 
and  finished  volumes  which  were  published  in  the 
Author's  lifetime. 

The  notes  are  of  two  kinds, — those  which  were 
made  by  the  Author  in  preparation  for  his  sermons 
or  lectures,  and  those  which  contain  materials  for 
works  intended  for  publication.  With  regard  to  the 
latter,  it  was  his  custom  to  cast  in  several  forms,  each 
advancing  a  step  nearer  to  completion,  the  works  which 
he  proposed  to  publish,  and  to  keep  them  by  him, 
sometimes  for  years,  before  he  sent  them  to  the  press. 
The  notes  of  the  treatises  on  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
Calvary,  which  are  included  in  the  present  volume, 
were  prepared  six  years  before  his  death,  but,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  pages  of  Calvary  (p.  223),  no 
further  progress  was  made.  If  they  do  not  present 
the  attractions  of  a  finished  work,  they  give  at  least 
the  outlines  of  it,  and  the  form  in  which  he  meant  to 
treat  it. 

The  arrangement  of  subjects  which  was  adopted  by 
the  author  in  his  volume  of  Hymns  has  been  followed 
as  nearly  as  was  practicable.  Of  the  seven  Parts 
which  make  up  the  whole  Collection,  three  are  pub- 


PREFACE.  IX 

lished  in  this  volume :  the  first,  treating  of  God,  His 
Attributes,  and  the  Three  Persons  of  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity ;  the  second,  of  the  Sacred  Humanity  of  Jesus, 
including  the  Mysteries  of  the  Passion ;  and  the  third, 
of  our  Blessed  Lady  and  the  Saints.  The  second 
volume  will  contain  the  fourth  and  fifth  parts,  re- 
lating to  the  Church,  the  Sacraments,  Controversy, 
and  the  Spiritual  Life,  together  with  the  sixth,  which 
is  of  a  miscellaneous  character,  concluding  with  the 
seventh,  which  treats  of  the  Four  Last  Things  and 
Purgatory. 

A  column  has  been  added  to  the  table  of  contents, 
for  the  purpose  of  giving,  when  it  could  be  ascertained, 
the  date  of  each  sermon.  With  a  few  exceptions  they 
were  all  preached  in  the  Church  of  the  Oratory,  at 
King  William  Street,  Strand,  from  1849  to  1853,  and 
at  Brompton  after  that  date. 

It  only  remains  to  say  a  few  words  concerning  the 
object  of  the  present  work.  It  is  intended  to  serve  as 
a  collection,  wherein  may  be  found  considerations  in  a 
short  form  upon  the  chief  Mysteries  of  the  Faith  and 
the  Spiritual  Life,  and  from  which  religious  Com- 
munities and  those  engaged  in  missionary  labor  may 
draw  materials  for  meditation  and  instruction.  To 
many  it  will  be  interesting  as  an  illustration  of  the 
methods  of  thought  and  work  which  were  habitual 
with  Father  Faber :  and  it  is  believed  that  those  who 
heard  his  sermons  with  pleasure  and  profit,  will  be 


x  PREFACE. 

glad  to  have  some  record  of  them,  however  imperfect ; 
while  those  whose  privilege  it  was  to  live  within  the 
circle  of  his  love  will  rejoice  that  his  words  should  not 
be  lost,  but  should  continue  the  work  of  increasing 
upon  earth  the  love  and  honor  of  Almighty  God,  our 
Blessed  Lady,  and  the  Saints,  which  he  strove  so 
successfully  to  promote. 

JOHN  E.  BOWDEN. 

THE  ORATORY,  LONDON, 

Feast  of  the  Purification, 
Eighteenth  Annivere"™'  ?f  '£?  EvqHsh 
1866. 


CONTENTS. 


Ifart  I. 
GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY. 

SECTION  I. 
THE  DIVINE  ATTRIBTTT£b. 

TEAR  PAGE 

I.  The  Three  Epochs  of  the  Holy  Trinity   ...  1858           3 

II.  The  Spirit  of  Adoration.     Trinity  Sunday  1853            5 

III.  Devotion  to  the  Omnipotence  of  God       ...  1860           7 

IV.  The  Delight  of  the  Incomprehensibility  of 

God     1860           8 

V.  The  Preparations  of   the  Divine  works. 

Christmas  Eve         1854          10 

VI.  The  Mercy  of  God      •                12 

VII.  God  Who  is  rich  in  Mercy.    Feast  of  the 

Precious  Blood        1860          14 

VIII.  The  Mercies  of  God -                18 

IX.  The  Divine  Forbearance      1856          20 

.     X.  God's  Patience  with  us         ...         ...         ...     21 

XI.  "  Knowest  thou  not  that  the  benignity  of 
God  leadeth  thee  to  penance  ?  "    Fourth 

Sunday  of  Lent       1863          22 

XII.  "  The  bruised  reed  He  shall  not  break,  and 

smoking  flax  He  shall  not  quench  "     ...  1861          24 

XIII.  God  our  Father          •                26 

XIV.  The  joy  of  being  the  property  of  God     ...  1856         28 
XV.  God's  love  of  single  souls 30 

XVI.  The  strangeness  of  God's  love  for  us        ...     31 

XVII.  "  Be  not  deceived :  God  is  not  mocked  "  ...  1861          33 

XVIII.  God  so  little  loved      •                35 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS. 

TEAR  PAGE 

XIX.  More  for  God.    Low  Sunday 1861  37 

XX.  Will  you  come  to  God  now? 39 

XXI.  A  taste  for  God 1859  41 

XXII.  Our  home  in  God                                                  I860  43 


SECTION  II. 

THE  HOLY  GHOST. 

I.  THE  HOLY  GHOST         ...    1857 

Chap.  I.  The  procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost    ... 
II.  The  Holy  Ghost  and  creatures 

III.  The  Holy  Ghost  and  Jesus     

IV.  The  Holy  Ghost  and  the  Soul 

V.  Devotion  to  the  Holy  Ghost 

II.  Pentecost      1860 

III.  God  a  God  of  Fire 1858 

IV.  Docility  to  the  Holy  Ghost        1857 

itfart  II. 

THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS. 
SECTION  I. 

OTTR  BLESSED   LOED. 

I.  Advent  Meditations       1848  111 

II.  Christmas  Day 1855  114 

III.  Christmas  Day.    For  the  children    ...         ...  1860  116 

IV.  New  Year's  Eve 1849  117 

V.  The  Epiphany.    Arundel       1861  119 

VI.  The  Epiphany  the  Feast  of  Converts          ...  1856  120 

VII.  The  Epiphany 1849  121 

VIII.  Feast  of  the  Name  of  Jesus 1855  123 

IX.  Devotions  for  those  who   wish   to  lead   an 
interior  life,   in    honor  of  the   Eighteen 

Hidden  Years  of  Jesus        1852  124 

X.  The  Person  of  Jesus  Christ.    Spanish  Place  1848  126 

XI.  Our  Lord's  choice  of  Poverty  1852  127 

XII.  Poverty  the  choice  of  Jesus 1849  129 

XIII.  Our  Lord's  Prayer        1857  130 


CONTENTS.  xni 

TEAR  PAGE 

XIV.  The  Mystery  of  Jesus  being  thought  mad  1850        131 

XV.  The  weariness  of  Jesus  at  the  well       ...     133 

XVI.  Easter  Sunday        1855        134 

XVII.  The  Victory  of  the  Resurrection            ...  1849        135 

XVIII.  The  Easter  joys  of  Jesus 1860        137 

XIX.  "  Dies  quam  fecit  Dominus"      1861         139 

XX.  The  Resurrection  a  Mystery  of  calmness  1854        143 
XXI.  Sunday  within  the   Octave  of  Corpus 

Christ!       1860        145 

XXII.  Lent  Exposition  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  1856        147 

XXIII.  The  Lent  Quarant'  Ore     1855        149 

XXIV.  The  Sacred  Heart 1852        150 

XXV.  The  Sacred  Heart.    London       1848        151 

XXVI.  Perpetual  freshness  of  Jesus       1857        153 

XXVII.  The  Life  of  Jesus  a  Life  of  Love          ... 155 

XXVIII.  Our  Lord's  love  of  us        ...        ^         ...  1861         156 
XXIX.  "  Come  unto  Me  all  ye  that  are  weary." 

Exposition            1856        157 

XXX.  The  Tears  of  Jesus 1854        159 

XXXI.  Without  Jesus  in  the  World.  Exposition  1856        160 
XXXII.  "  There  is  now  therefore  no  condemnation 

to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus  "      ...  1860        162 

XXXIII.  First  sightof  the  Face  of  Jesus.Exposition  1856        163 

SECTION  II. 
THE  PASSION. 

I.  CALVARY 1857 

Chap.  I.  The  Passion ;  its  historical,  doctri- 
nal, and  mystical  character  169 
II.  The  Excess  of  the  Passion 172 

III.  The  Bodily  Pains      175 

IV.  The  Mental  Sufferings         ...        ...  179 

V.  The  Shame      184 

VI.  Outward  demeanor  and  inward  Dis- 
positions        189 

VII.  The  Solitariness        193 

VIII.  The  Circle  of  Evil     197 

IX.  His  Divinity  in  the  Passion           ...  201 

X.  The  Spectators  of  the  Passion       ...  206 

XI.  The  Shadows  of  Calvary     211 

XII.  The  Abyss       216 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

TEAB  I'M.r 

II.  Calvary,  Chap.  I.  beginning  of        1859        223 

III.  Meditations  on  the  Crucifix 232 

IV.  Our  Lord's  Innocence.    Lent           1861        241 

V.  The  Face  of  Jesus        1859        245 

VI.  Desertion  of  the  Apostles.    Passion  Sunday  1861        246 

VII.  Judas       248 

VIII.  "  His  Blood  be  upon  us  and  upon  our  chil- 
dren."    Lent 1861        250 

IX.  "  He  saved  others :  Himself  He  cannot  save." 

Lent      ...    ' 1861        254 

X.  Our  Blessed  Lord's  complaints  in  His  Pas- 
sion.   Lent      1861        256 

XI.  Our  Blessed  Lord  bowing  His  Head  upon 

the  Cross.    Passion  Sunday          1863        260 

XII.  The  Passion  our  devotion  the  whole  year  ...  1854        262 

XIII.  The  Legacies  of  Jesus.    London      1848        264 

XIV.  Setting  up  the  Stations           1854        266 

XV.  The  Pain  of  Jesus  from  our  little  devotion 

to  His  Passion.    Lent         1861        267 

XVI.  The  Seven  Journeys 269 

XVII.  The  Five  Trials  of  Jesus        270 

Jfart  III. 

OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS. 
SECTION  I. 

OUR  BLESSED  LADY. 

I.  Devotion  to  Mary  the  great  gift  of  Jesus. 

May        ...        1861        275 

II.  Mary  the  Mother  of  Sinners ...     277 

III.  Mary  the  safety  of  souls.    Islington 1853        279 

IV.  Dependence  on  Mary.    Lent 1856        281 

V.  More  love  of  Mary        1860        283 

VI.  Mary  magnifying  God 1859        286 

VII.  Mary  the  likeness  of  God        1859        288 

VIII.  The  Delight  of  God  in  the  Perfections  of  Mary. 

Octave  of  the  Immaculate  Conception      ...  1859        290 

IX.  Immaculate  Conception.     Tri&uo  and  Feast  1854 

1.  The  Mother  and  the  Son 292 

2.  The  Mother  and  her  many  Sons            ...  294 

3.  The  Mother  of  the  Immaculate  Queen  296 

4.  The  Immaculate  Queen 298 


CONTENTS.  XV 

TEAR  PAGE 

X.  Praying  for  Sinners.    May     1860        301 

XI.  The  Assumption            1851        304 

XII.  The  Assumption           1857        305 

XIII.  Rosary  Sunday 1851        307 

XIV.  "The  letter  killeth,  but  the  Spirit  giveth 

life."  To  the  Enf ants  de  Marie.  Roehampton  1851        308 

XV.  Memorials  of  Mary  and  her  sixty-three  years    309 

XVI.  The  Joys  of  our  dear  Lady     312 

SECTION  II. 
THE  SAINTS. 

I.  Meditations  on  the  Holy  Angels       ...         ...     315 

II.  Motives  for  a  peculiar  affection  towards  our 

own  dear  Guardian  Angel 322 

III.  Devotional  practices  in  honor  of  our  Guar- 

dian Angel        325 

IV.  St.  Joseph  327 

V.  Meditations  on  St.  Joseph  : 

1.  His  seven  Dolors       331 

2.  His  seven  Joys           332 

3.  Other  considerations  about  him     ...  333 
VI.  St.  John  the  Baptist      ... 1849        335 

VII.  The  Three  Kings           1860        336 

VIII.  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury.    Fulham          ...  1848        338 

IX.  St.  Charles.    Bayywater          1861        360 

X.  Novena  of  St.  Philip. 

1.  Sketch  of  the  Saint's  Life 1859        363 

2.  The  look  of  commonplaceness  with 

such  a  supernatural  life    364 

3.  His  spirit  of  liberty 366 

4.  His  reality       369 

5.  His  sphere       371 

XI.  First  Vespers  of  St.  Philip     1860        373 

XII.  St.  Philip's  Day 1861        375 

XIII.  St.  Francis  Xavier.     Church  of  the  Immacu- 

late Conception,  Farm  Street          1857        379 

XIV.  The  Fear  of  the  Saints 380 


part  ifiret 

GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY. 


SECTION  I. 
THE  DIVINE  ATTRIBUTES. 


VOL.  I. 


I. 


THE  THREE  EPOCHS  OF  THE  HOLY 
TRINITY. 

I  KNOW  not  whether  deep  awe  or  deep  tenderness  is 
more  excited  in  us,  when  we  think  of  the  overwhelm- 
ing mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  If  thought  remains 
thought,  then  deep  awe ;  but  if  thought  quickly  lights 
up  into  prayer,  then  most  exquisite  tenderness,  and  a 
certain  trembling  familiarity,  which  is  the  most  piercing 
joy  in  life. 
We  feel— 

1.  As  children  born  abroad,  and  told  great  things  of 

our  home,  and  beginning  to  travel  thither  when 
grown  up. 

2.  As  flying  with  an  angel,  yet  feeling  the  farther  off 

from  earth,  the  nearer  home. 

Let  us  see  what  we  have  to  do  with  the  Holy  Trin- 
ity :  we  feel  as  if  we  should  lie  on  our  faces,  and  speak 
low,  when  we  speak  of  this  adorable,  transcending  Life 
of  the  Uncreated  and  the  Eternal. 
I.  First  Epoch. — The  Eternity  before  Creation. 

1.  It  is  God's  immensity  which  makes  Him  so  inti- 

mate  to  our  littleness. 

2.  The  loneliness  of  God. 

3.  The  Companionship  of  the  Divine  Persons. 

3 


4  PART  I. 

4.  We  lying  clearly  in  the  knowledge  of  God  from 

eternity. 

5.  We  also,  our  own  secret  selves,  quickening  the 

thrills  of  His  love,  before   heaven   and   earth, 
matter  or  spirit,  light  or  angel,  space  or  time 
existed. 
So  it  was  our  old  home. 

II.  Second  Epoch. — Our  own  lifetime. 

1.  Daily  life  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity — Generation 

and  Procession. 

2.  No  shadow  of  mutability  has  passed   over  the 

Divine  Majesty  because  of  Creation. 

3.  Yet  the  Sacred  Humanity  of  Jesus  is  in  the  midst 

— Mary's  throne — Angels  and  souls. 

4.  Momentarily  the  Will  of  the  Three  Divine  Per- 

sons concerns  itself  for  us. 

5.  Our  place  there  is  fixed — preparations   made — 

intense  interest  taken  in  it. 

So  it  is  our  present  home,  from  which  we  are  absent 
but  for  a  while. 

III.  Third  Epoch. — Our  immortality. 

1.  The  life  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity  still  going  on 

in  blissful  changeless  peace. 

2.  Yet  we  actually  beholding  it,  and  drinking  our 

own  immortal  life  out  of  the  vision. 

3.  Delight  of  being  exclusively  engrossed  with  God : 

and  God  as  it  were  exclusively  with  us. 

4.  Whether  there  be  new  creations  or  none,  we  are 

still  in  glorious  rest  with  Him. 

So  it  is  our  future,  our  only,  our  unspeakably  happy 
home. 

My  brethren  !  all  this  is  but  a  fragment  of  our  Cate- 
chism ;  but  if  these  things  be  so,  oh  happy  predestinated 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.  5 

souls;  what  have  we  to  do  with  sin,  with  self,  with 
worldliness  ? 


n. 

THE  SPIRIT  OF  ADORATION. 

Fear  remains  in  sceculum  sceculi,  therefore  in  Heaven : 
tremunt  potestates :  so  on  earth  the  substance  of  religion, 
the  successful  avoiding  of  sin,  perseverance  and  perfec- 
tion, all  consist  in  the  genuine,  spirit  of  adoration. 
I.  The  Mystery  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity :  the  worship 
in  heaven. 

1.  The  angels,  hiding  their  faces  with  their  wings,  &c. 

2.  Our  Blessed  Lady  :  her  profound  humiliation. 

3.  The  Sacred  Humanity  of  Jesus,  filled  with  the 

spirit  of  adoration. 

4.  No  familiarity  in  heaven  with  the  unveiled  ever 

new  majesty  of  God. 

5.  There  must  be  awe,  as  the  mystery  is  not  compre- 

hended, even  by  Mary. 

6.  No  intrinsic  impossibility  of  sinning — all  depends 

on  the  Vision,  not  on  us. 

7.  Awfulness  of  the  coruscations  of  the  Eternal — 

what  words  can  tell  ? 

8.  Height  of  celestial  joy  in  this  very  awe :  the  Vision 

will  not  harm  us :  it  is  our  life. 

II.   The  spirit  of  adoration — what  must  it  be  to  us 
unclean  on  earth? 

1.  Examples  of  it. — (1)  Old  Testament.     (2)  Jesus. 
(3)  Mary.     (4)  Apostles.     (5)  Dying  Saints. 

2.  Want  of  it  the  reason  of  so  little  perseverance  in 

the  devout  life. 


6  PART  1. 

3.  Faults  against  it. 

(1)  Criticism  of  God's  ways. 

(2)  Light  speeches,  such  as  we  might  make  about 
Saints. 

(3)  Even  in  prayer — 1.  want  of  preparation,  2. 
posture,  3.  petulance. 

4.  Ways  of  practising  it. 

(1)  Respect  for  the  Name  of  God ;  special  com- 
mandment about  it. 

(2)  Fear  of  His  judgments :  humble  views  of — 1. 
Death,  2.  Judgment,  3.  Purgatory,  4.  Sin,  5. 
Security  of  salvation. 

(3)  Doing  things  slowly. 

5.  Evils  which  the  "neglect  of  it  brings,  or  rather 

blessings  which  the  practice  brings. 

(1)  It  leads  to  little  talk,  and  so  closes  a  huge 
river  of  sins. 

(2)  To  self-contempt,  and  so  makes  the  prime  law 
of  charity  easy. 

(3)  It  moderates  and  sobers  joy  which  otherwise 
would  make  us  childish  and  giddy. 

(4)  The  more  we  realize  the  dignity  and  immensity 
of  God,  the  more  we  desire  Him. 

(5)  It   gives  us  greater   confidence   in   Him,  as 
reverence   always   does;    we   trust  what   we 
revere. 

The  awfulness  of  making  free  with  God :  the  Eternal 
Father,  the  sacredness  of  His  Majesty.  His  very  good- 
ness causes  us  to  tremble ;  the  infinite  blessing  of  His 
not  passing  us  over  and  ignoring  us !  Sometimes  in 
the  stillness  of  the  night,  in  the  hush  of  prayer,  it 
might  so  seem  us  if  we  might  come  to  die  and  He  for- 
get us.  Oh  the  blessing  of  being  encompassed,  girded 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.          7 

up,  wound  round  and  pressed  to  Him  with  His  ever- 
lasting presence,  universal  knowledge,  and  illimitable 
power !  O  God,  Our  God !  how  admirable  is  Thy  Name ! 


III. 
DEVOTION  TO  THE  OMNIPOTENCE  OF  GOD. 

I.  Characteristics  of  the  Attribute. 

1.  The  result  of  all  the  rest  of  God's  Perfections. 

2.  And  also  the  means  by  which  they  all  work  and 

magnify  themselves. 

3.  Its  grandeur   shown  by  its  very  limits — (1)    It 

cannot  do  wrong.  (2)  It  cannot  give  way.  (3) 
It  cannot  require  assistance. 

4.  Its  peculiar  connection  with  Mercy ;  see  xi.  and 

xii.  chaps,  of  Wisdom.  Its  connection  with  de- 
votion to  the  Eternal  Father,  and  to  the  choir 
of  Thrones. 

5.  Grandeur  of  its  (1)  silence,  (2)  facility,  (3)  tran- 

quillity, (4)  unobtrusiveness,  (5)  forbearing  ten- 
derness. 

II.  Spirit  the  devotion  will  breed. 

1.  Immense  increase  of  faith. 

2.  Huge  courage. 

3.  Indomitable  cheerfulness. 

4.  Familiarities  with  God ;  looking  at  Omnipotence 

as  our  ally. 

5.  Rest  of  soul,  through  submission ;  Creation  lean- 

ing on  Omnipotence,  and  Omnipotence  embrac- 
ing, fondling  it  as  it  leans. 

III.  Miscellaneous. 

1.  It  is  very  necessary  for  the  time  in  which  we  live. 


8  PART  I. 

2.  It  makes  our  way  of  working  more  quiet,  and  also 

more  consistent,  less  vacillating. 

3.  It  breeds  in  us  a  greater  habitual  idea  of  the  sov- 

ereignty of  our  most  dear  God. 

4.  It  makes  us  more  gentle  with  others,  and  more 

humble  in  exercising  influence. 

5.  It  impregnates  our  soul  with  the  savor  of  eternity. 
IV.  Attitudes  of  the  Devotion. 

1.  Adoring  the  beauty  of  the  Attribute. 

2.  Submitting  to  it  as  a  master. 

3.  Co-operating  with  it  as  a  fellow-worker. 

4.  Looking  at  it  as  a  fast  friend,  who  will  always  be 

interfering  for  us,  when  needed. 

5.  Regarding  it  as  lending  its  magnificent  self  to  us 

to  use  in  our  own  way. 

How  it  fills  us  with  a  glorious  overwhelming  faith  in 
the  final  victory  of  right. 


IV. 

THE  DELIGHT  OF  THE  INCOMPREHENSI- 
BILITY OF  GOD. 

I.  Delight  of  it  to  Himself. 

1.  Like  the  Generation  of  the  Son,  it  is  a  kind  of 

jubilant  consciousness  of  all  His  perfections. 

2.  It  is  the  outspreading  of  His  peace. 

3.  It  is  the  vastness  of  His  liberty,  which  is  the  most 

mysterious  of  ail  things  in  God. 

4.  It  gratifies  His  secrecy  ;  S.  Austin  calls  Him  Ens 

secretissimum. 

5.  Sole  prerogative — of  being  able  to  comprehend 

Himself! 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.          9 

6.  Yet  not  a  loneliness.    The  Three  Persons  compre- 

hend the  Divine  Nature  and  Essence. 

7.  Joy  in  the  Sacred  Humanity  as  a  visible  proof  of 

the  Divine  Incomprehensibility  :  incommunica- 
ble even  to  It.  His  omnipotence  cannot  make 
Him  comprehensible. 

8.  The  secret  regions  of  God  probably  most  full  of 

jubilee  to  Himself,  as  incommunicable  because 
too  high  to  communicate — yet  this  is,  of  course, 
a  human  way  of  speaking. 

9.  Each    attribute    has    eminences    inconceivable ; 

besides  that,  there  are  unsuspected  incommuni- 
cable perfections. 
10.  The  wonder  of  His  simplicity  amidst   all  this, 

intense  jubilee  to  Him  because  of  His  unity. 
II.  Delight  to  us. 

1.  To  our  love,  that  He  will  always  be  above  our 

comprehension,  and  all  comprehension. 

2.  It  ardently  quickens  our  desires  to  know  and  to 

explore  Him. 

3.  It  helps  us  to  measure  eternity  —  we  can  hardly 

believe  in  the  inexhaustible. 

4.  It  helps  us  to  realize  the  unsearchable  riches  of 

His  mercy,  which  His  Incomprehensibility  con- 
fers upon  Him. 

5.  It  wins  and  weans  us  from  all  created  beauty. 

6.  It  gives  us  such  intense  intellectual  peace:  silence 

of  objections,  freedom  from  temptations. 

7.  Joy  of  faith :  the  unknown  things  of  God  leave 

something  like  faith  in  heaven  even. 

8.  Room  for  vastness  of  worship  and  love :  our  best 

idea  of  God  is  His  Incomprehensibility. 

9.  Delight  that  we  can  wonderfully  comprehend  so 


10  PAET  I. 

much — and  desire  to  love  more  that  we  may 
comprehend  more.  Delight  of  saints  in  hidden 
ways  of  God  and  Incomprehensibility  of  judg- 
ments. (S.  Paul,  Romans  xi.)  Our  Lord  also 
"  hid  from  wise  and  prudent." 

10.  But  we  can  love  Him  as  incomprehensible,  though 
not  know  His  Incomprehensibility. 

III.  What  is  Incomprehensibility  ? 

1.  God  is  incomprehensible  by  the  very  force  of  being 

God. 

2.  Lights  of  nature,  grace,  and  glory. 

3.  The  blessed  see  some  things  they  cannot  compre- 

hend ;  and  some  they  do  not  see  at  all ;  yet  God 
is  seen  tolus  sed  non  totaliter. 

4.  The  least  things  in  God  are  incomprehensible. 

5.  S.  Teresa's  peculiar  devotion  to  it.* 

IV.  The  shadow  of  His  Incomprehensibility  is  our  own 

reward,  "  eye  has  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,"  &c. 


V. 

THE  PREPARATIONS  OF  THE  DIVINE 
WORKS.f 

I.  In  reality,  how  fearful  a  thing  it  is  to  think  that  to 
be  Christians  we  must  be  like  God !  He  so  high, 
and  we  so  low !  He  with  such  perfections,  we  with 
such  miseries!  Let  us  see  how  God  works,  e.  g., 
in  the  Birth  of  Christ.  So  unlike  what  we  should 
have  expected  is  real  majesty. 

*Le  cose  difficili  da  intendersi  mi  cagionano  divozione,  e  quanto 
piu  sono  incapibili,  tan  to  maggior  divozione  provo  verso  di  esse. — 
Sentenziario,  p.  58,  sent.  937.  f  Christmas  Eve. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        11 

1.  He  waits  with  patience. 

(1)  The  world  was  left  in  sin  for  four  thousand 

years. 

(2)  Yet  how  He  must  have  yearned  to  redeem  it : 

how  different  our  precipitate  zeal. 

(3)  He  will  have  Mary  His  creature  to  anticipate 

the  time :  how  much  we  have  to   do  with 
God's  works. 

2.  He  works  with  modesty,  and  a  sort  of  Divine 

Bashfulness :  and  this  for  all  He  is  God. 

(1)  He  seeks  silence  and  obscurity:  e.g.,  the  Im- 

maculate Conception,  and  the  Annunciation. 

(2)  Few  words,  and  no  praise :  so  all  the  circum- 

stances of  the  Nativity. 

(3)  He  puts  things  out  and  leaves  men  to  thwart 

them,  as  if  He  were  regardless  of  success. 

3.  He  works  with  a  spirit  of  Divine  Love. 

(1)  He  ignores  the  world,  and  takes  it  neither 

into  His  counsels  nor  His  calculations. 

(2)  All  for  love ;  His  own  glory,  the  merits  of 

Jesus,  the  favors  of  Mary,  all  mean  our  sal- 
vation. 

(3)  There  is  a  sort  of  poetry  about  all  the  circum- 

stances of  His  works,  because  of  their  exces- 
sive sweetness  and  heavenly  pathos :  not  only 
to  win  our  hearts,  but  because  He  is  God,  as 
if  He  could  not  help  being  beautiful  and 
sweet  and  touching. 
II.  So  we  also  should  work. 

1.  In  our  daily  duties  and  occupations. 

2.  In  all  the  affairs  of  our  spiritual  life. 

3.  Yet    instead,   eagerness,   self-trust,    and    human 

respect  are  our  three  principles  of  human  life ; 


12  PART  I. 

its  body  is  self-trust,  its  soul  is  human  respect, 

its  spirit  eagerness. 

Look  at  Mary  and  Joseph  all  to-day. — 1.  Journeying 
on.  2.  Bethlehem.  3.  The  cave,  how  quiet,  modest, 
retiring,  and  uneager:  yet  the  world  had  not  seen 
Jesus  yet.  It  was  without  Him.  Think  of  the  world 
without  Jesus — in  all  its  relations.  But  so  it  is  with 
Mary  ;  still  by  nature,  she  is  more  still  by  grace  ;  still 
by  grace,  she  is  more  still  now  that  she  bears  the 
Fountain  of  Grace  and  the  Lord  of  Glory.  It  is  just 
like  the  Annunciation :  the  magnificence  of  Mary  is 
her  tranquillity. 


VI. 
THE  MERCY  OF  GOD. 

The  thought  of  God  the  sunshine  of  the  world — study 
of  His  character  and  attributes — His  personality. 

I.  What  mercy  is,  especially  in  God. 

1.  Mercy  in  a  human  sense  involves  our  suffering 

ourselves,  or  our  liability  to  suffer,  the  same  or 
like  or  some  sufferings. 

2.  Mystery  of   it    in    God,   Who — (1)   can   suffer 

nothing,  (2)  is  infinitely  just,  (3)  omnipotent, 
and  (4)  omniscient. 

3.  Divine  gifts  to  men — (1)  from  justice,  (2)  from 

liberality,  (3)  from  goodness. 

4.  Distinction  between  goodness  and  mercy  in  God. 

II.  Works  and  Manifestations  of  Divine  Mercy. 

1.  Attributes  of  God,  as  seen  by  the  blessed,  or  by 
Saints  in  eestacy,  beautiful,  satisfying  the  im- 
mortal spirit. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       13 

2.  Out  of  mercy  came  the  mysterious  work  of  crea- 

tion— creatures  out  of  nothing,  mercy  separating 
them  from  the  mass  of  possible  things. 

3.  Manner  of  creation — He  made  angels  and  men  in 

a  supernatural  state  of  grace.  , 

4.  Gift  of  immortality,  hindering  them  from  falling 

back  into  the  abyss  of  nothingness,  which  theo- 
logians call  a  perpetual  redemption. 

5.  Mercy  to  mankind,  going  beyond  mercy  to  angels 

— (1)  Fall.     (2)  Incarnation.    (3)  Iteration  of 
Sacrament  of  Penance. 

6.  Mercy  to  sinners — 

(1)  Meekness — does  not  let  His  anger  break  out, 

is  not  disgusted. 

(2)  Patience — waits  for  sinners,  dissembles,  tires 

out  our  passions  by  longsuffering. 

(3)(  Benignity — always  ready  to  receive;  no  num- 
ber of  sins,  or  kind,  repel  Him,  yet  think 
what  siii  is. 

(4)  Clemency — dtra  condignum  in  hell. 

7.  Mercy  to  the  good,  whom  St.  Paul  calls  vessels  of 

mercy. 

(1)  Anyhow  greater  than  to  sinners. 

(2)  Ways — 1.   Adoption.      2.   Protection  against 

evil  spirits.  3.  Affability.  4.  Punishments 
in  this  life.  5.  Magnificence  of  gifts,  conso- 
lations, and  augmentations  of  grace. 

(3)  Unspeakableness  of  heaven  and  beatific  vision 

at  last. 
III.  Special  adoration  of  God's  Mercy. 

1.  Picture  of  mercy — (1)  In  hell.  (2)  In  heaven. 
(3)  The  whole  being  of  Purgatory.  (4)  Spread 
like  the  waters  of  an  ocean  over  earth.  (5) 


14  PART  I. 

Gloriousness  of  it  in  God  Himself,  in  the  depths 
of  the  Unspeakable  Godhead. 

2.  Mary  a  vessel  gleaming  full  of  mercy,  without 

judgment,  that  men  might  fall  in  love  with  its 
beauty  and  adore  it — in  her  it  is  apart,  not  as 
in  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus ;  her  consequent 
devotion  to  this  attribute. 

3.  So  take  the  hint  from  this,  and  daily  get  her  to 

worship  the  mercy  of  God  and  bless  it  for  us. 
Spirits  gazing  on  the  Divine  attribute  of  mercy — 
unreckoned  centuries  of  eternity  go  by — still  it  seems 
ever  new,  ever  wonderful,  ever  fresh,  as  the  dilated 
spirit  drinks  in  the  view.  Will  the  time  ever  come, 
when  we,  imprisoned  here  amid  the  weariness  of  life, 
the  captives  of  our  own  offensive  littleness,  the  victims 
of  pain,  age,  and  want,  shall  be  ourselves  a  beauty,  a 
bright  spot,  a  notable  magnificence,  thus,  in  the  full 
blaze  of  the  golden  heavens,  worshipping  with  the 
strong  thrills  of  an  immortal  ecstasy  the  mercy  of  the 
Holy  and  Everlasting  God,  the  Simple  and  Undivided 
Trinity? 


VII. 
GOD  WHO  IS  RICH  IN  MERCY* 

We  want  many  things  of  God :  we  shall  never 
cease  to  want  many  things  of  Him ;  when  we  possess 
Him  in  the  incredible  happiness  of  our  grand  eternity, 
though  we  shall  possess  Him,  we  shall  still  want  Him. 
If  He  were  to  speak  to  me  now,  and  I  had  to  say 

*  Feast  of  the  Precious  Blood,  1860. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        15 

the  one  thing,  only  one,  which  I  most  wanted  of  Him, 
could  I  hesitate  in  my  answer  for  one  moment  ?  Father! 
I  want  mercy.  If  I  think  of  the  past  I  want  mercy ; 
of  the  present,  mercy ;  of  the  future,  mercy ;  of  eternity, 
mercy.  St.  Paul,  prisoner  at  Rome,  writes  to  the  Ephe- 
sians,  and  calls  God — God  who  is  rich  in  mercy :  this 
name  of  God  is  exceedingly  sweet ;  it  sings  in  my  ear 
like  an  angel's  song :  beautiful  things  came  out  of  that 
marvellous  mind  of  St.  Paul's :  none  ever  more  beauti- 
ful than  this — God  who  is  rich  in  mercy. 
I.  What  is  it  for  God  to  be  rich. — To  be  rich  is  to 

have  superfluity,  more  than  we  want.     God  more 

than  He  wants !     What  a  thought ! 

1.  The  immensity  of  His  treasures. 

2.  The  variety  of  them. 

3.  Their  delightfulness  to  creatures.     Can  God  pos- 

sibly create  two  things  more  insatiable  than  the 
spirit  of  an  angel  and  the  soul  of  a  man  ? 

4.  His  liberality. 

5.  But  in  mercy,  St.  Paul  hints,  eminently,  unspeak- 

ably, unimaginably  rich. 

II.  The  inside  of  the  treasury  of  God. 

1.  Creation — what  a  vastness  it  is,  what  an  outpour- 

ing it  was ! 

2.  Grace,  its  beauty  and  abundance. 

3.  Mary  with   her  sorrows,  joys,  glories,  and   dear 

offices. 

4.  Jesus,  with  His  immensities  of  Bethlehem,  Naza- 

reth, and  Calvary. 

5.  The  unsearchable  magnificence  of  His  own  ever 

blessed  Self. 

III.  Mercy  sweetening  life. 

1.  Are* we  in  trouble  about  our  past  life?     Hark, 


1C  PARTI. 

how  sweet  that  apostolic  voice !  Listen,  it  is  an 
angel  singing,  Rich  in  mercy ! 

2.  Trouble  about  present  vileness?     The  very  wild 

flowers  from  the  earth  breathe  forth  the  words, 
the  silence  tingles  into  a  sound,  and  articulates, 
Rich  in  mercy.  It  is  like  one  of  those  beams  of 
God  which  sometimes  fall  athwart  the  darkness 
of  our  prayer. 

3.  Trouble  about  those  we  love,  whom  we  have  long 

prayed  for,  and  who  seem  past  prayer  ?  Rich  in 
mercy !  Blessed  be  St.  Paul  for  that  lucky  word, 
or  rather,  Blessed  be  the  Holy  Ghost  for  that 
tender  inspiration  ! 

4.  Trouble  about  our  dead,  whose  faults  come  perti- 

naciously to  mind  ?     Rich  in  mercy  ! 

5.  A  death  to  die,  and  a  judgment  to  go  through? 

These  are  panics  such  as  to  be  almost  unbeliev- 
able— yet  they  are  infallible:  Rich  in  mercy. 
Yes !  in  a  torture  of  believing  love,  we  cry,  it 
is  the  utterance  of  our  human  faith,  Rich  in 


mercy 


IV.  We  often  talk  of  a  thing  we  know  till  it  strikes  us 
that  we  do  not  know  it.  Familiarity  has  a  way 
of  making  things  strange  to  us.  What  is  mercy  ? 
What  an  unanswerable  question !  but  let  us  try 
to  answer  it. 

1.  It  is  all  the  wants  of  the  creature  satisfied  in  one. 

2.  It  is  all  his  difficulties  answered  and  turned  into 

revelations. 

3.  It  is  all  the  sweetnesses  of  God  put  into  one. 

4.  It  is  the  beautifulness  of  God  to  us :  (1)  Power 

become  gentle.    (2)  Wisdom  dissolved  into  kind- 
ness.   (3)  Magnificence  made  tender.    (4)  Justice 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       17 

grown  indulgent.  (5)  Love's  delight  in  us, 
fidelity  to  us,  inability  to  do  without  us. 
5.  Oh  no !  mercy  is  far  jnore  than  all  this ;  look 
up  into  God,  wait  awhile  till  your  eyes  get 
accustomed  to  the  blaze,  look  up  to  His  highest 
heights,  gaze  into  His  deepest  depths — there 
now,  you  see  mercy.  Oh,  how  unutterably 
beautiful!  and  you  may  read  the  new  name 
God  gave  to  mercy — and  when  He  gave  it  the 
songs  of  the  angels  thundered  round  the  throne 
as  they  had  never  done  before — Thou  shalt  call 
His  name  Jesus ;  for  He  shall  save  His  people 
from  their  sins. 

All  this  is  incredible:  it  is  incredible;  but  faith 
manages  to  believe  many  incredible  things.  If  all  this 
be  true,  what  becomes  of  the  justice  and  sanctity  of 
God?  I  do  not  know,  I  cannot  think,  I  must  not  ques- 
tion. Sin  is  encouraged?  I  hope  not ;  but  if  men  take 
scandal  with  the  justice  of  God,  no  wonder  they  take 
scandal  with  the  mercy  of  God :  for  it  is  more  exces- 
sive, more  unexpected,  more  out  of  place,  more  unac- 
countable. God  must  see  to  it.  God  must  provide. 
I  grant  it  is  a  difficulty,  a  miracle,  a  secret,  a  mystery ; 
but  to  faith  one  phrase,  which  St.  Peter  invented,  and 
which  I  will  put  alongside  of  that  word  of  St.  Paul's  on 
which  I  have  been  commenting,  one  phrase  unlocks  the 
whole,  answers  the  whole,  illuminates  the  whole, — the 
whole  Church  is  sounding  it  to-day  as  through  a  silver 
trumpet : — The  Precious  Blood ! 


VoLL 


18  PART  I. 

VIII. 
THE  MERCIES  OF  GOD. 

Each  one's  life  is  a  miracle  of  mercies :  like  the  lives 
of  the  Old  Testament  Saints  and  patriarchs. 
I.  The  multitude  of  God's  mercies. 

1.  God   is  not  distracted   by  the  numbers  of  His 

creatures. 

2.  The  continual  outpouring  of  His  mercies  upon 

them. 

3.  What  a  mercy  from  God  must  be  like ;   think 

then  of  their  multitude. 

II.  The  variety   of  God's   mercies,   like  vernal   and 

autumnal  woods. 

1.  Different  to  different  persons. 

2.  No  two  of  the  same  person's  mercies  are  the  same. 

3.  Varieties,  slow  and   sudden,  unasked  and   long 

prayed  for,  silent  and  loud,  direct  and  indirect, 
secret  and  public. 

III.  The  way  in  which  He  does  them. 

1.  As  if  laying  Himself  under  an  obligation  instead 

of  conferring  one. 

2.  For  the  purpose  of  gaining  our  love. 

3.  In  such  a  way  as  to  make  us  feel  more  free  with 

Him  instead  of  less  free. 

IV.  The  way  they  are  mingled  with  sorrows. 

1.  They  come  before  sorrows  to  make  us  better  able 

to  bear  them. 

2.  The  sorrow  is  always  less  raw  than  it  seemed  as  if 

it  inevitably  must  be. 

3.  They  follow  like  the  rain  when  the  lightning  has 

come:  then  be  on  the  watch  for  His  mercies; 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        19 

as  the  flower  which  the  hot  sun  has  caused  to 
droop,  when  the  rain  comes,  lifts  up  its  colored 
eye  to  heaven,  and  breathes  sweet  odors  on  the 
air. 

V.  Their  perseverance. 

1.  They  do  not  cease  because  of  our  ingratitude  and 

sin. 

2.  They  do  not  wear  out  like  human  kindnesses. 

3.  They  multiply  as  we  grow  older. 

VI.  Their  sweetness. 

1.  Special  sweetness  in  the  circumstances  and  adap- 

tations of  each. 

2.  Timely  sweetness — always  in  season — only  God's 

kindness  is  always  seasonable—human  kindness 
is  often  harsh  for  want  of  this. 

3.  Extra  sweetness,  more  than  needed  or  promised, 

or  than  is  natural ;  every  mercy  of  God  is  a 
very  supernatural  thing. 

VII.  Conclusion. 

1.  What  a  picture  of  God  it  gives  us !     He  so  loves 

thanks. 

2.  Also  what  a  picture  of  ourselves,  yet  what  a  joy 

to  have  such  a  God  as  ours. 

3.  Yet  all  this  is  only  a  shadow  of  the  mercies  of 

heaven. 

Yet  earth's  mercies  end  in  heaven's  mercies.  How 
many  secret  mercies  of  each  one  of  you  is  but  the 
beginning  of  a  gladness  and  a  glory  that  shall  be 
eternal.  Oh  let  us  go  home  and  think  of  our  good 
God,  and  weep  secret  tears  of  joy  over  the  beauty  and 
the  pleasantness,  over  the  patience  and  the  plenty, 
over  the  freedom  and  the  kindliness,  of  our  Father's 
exceeding  goodness. 


20  PART  L 

IX. 
THE  DIVINE  FORBEARANCE. 

The  immensity  of  the  Majesty  of  God,  and  so  the 
dreadfulness  of  offending  Him,  and  the  unspeakable 
wonder  of  His  being  so  patient  and  still  under  it  all. 
London  at  this  hour. 
I.  God's  forbearance  generally. 

1.  With  individuals,  nations,  and  the  world. 

2.  His  silence. 

3.  His   continuance   of   blessings,   and    so   seeming 

approval. 

4.  His   forbearance   lasting   even   through   a   quiet 

deathbed. 

5.  Then  the  awakening. 

II.  His  forbearance  with  our  own  selves ;  which  none 

but  we  can  know,  for  none  else  know  the  depth 
of  our  own  badness. 

1.  The  graces  heaped  upon  us. 

2.  Our  relapses  and  fresh  rebellions. 

3.  Continual  hourly  new  forgivenesses. 

4.  Negligence  in  His  service. 

5.  Poorness  and  ungenerosity  of  it. 

III.  Our  present  state. 

1.  We  on  earth — many  less  guilty  in  hell. 

2.  God's  present  love  of  us. 

3.  The  reason  of  this — because  He  sees  us  in  Christ. 

4.  Our  resolutions  for  holiness. 

5.  Present  practice — for  the  rest  of  Lent — Devotion 

to  the  Passion. 

Shut  out  the  world   from   our  hearts,  even  while 
working   for   the   world  with   our   hands — catch   His 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        21 

voice — hear  the  dropping  of  His  Precious  Blood — His 
low  sighs,  not  so  much  of  suffering  as  of  love — by 
Easter  we  may  kiss  His  wounded  feet. 


X. 

GOD'S  PATIENCE  WITH  US. 

I.  His  slowness  to  anger. 

1.  Number  of  our  offences. 

2.  Increase  of  graces. 

3.  Delay  of  punishment. 

4.  Gentleness  of  punishment. 

5.  Even  when  punishing  He  often  is  not  angry. 

II.  His  disinterested  sweetness  in  His  disappointments 

with  us. 

1.  As  if  His  glory  was  nothing  to  Him. 

2.  What  He  cannot  get  in  one  way  He  tries  to  get 

in  another. 

3.  If  He  fails  He  will  not  give  it  up. 

4.  He  acts  as  if  He  had  made  a  mistake  in  asking 

too  much. 

5.  He  does  not  make  things  decisive,  as  if  He  said, 

Well,  now  try  this  Cross,  my  child. 

III.  His  incredible  allowances,  and  the  interpretations 

of  His  wisdom. 

1.  His  knowledge  of  us  as  our  Creator,  fountain  of 

millions  of  mercies,  which  would  seem  foolish 
to  the  sharp-eyed  blindness  of  the  world. 

2.  He  sees  no  fault  when  we  often  see  much. 

3.  What  He  sees  in  secret  all  goes  to  extenuate  our 

faults. 

4.  He  sees  how  much  are  stupidities  well  meant. 


22  PART  I. 

5.  He  sets  such  a  value  upon  efforts.     No  mother  is 
so  blind  as  the  all-seeing-God. 

IV.  His  marvellous  indulgence. 

1.  Evil  ways  less  heavy  in  His  scales  than  in  those 

of  man. 

2.  While  good  weighs  far  more  heavily. 

V.  His  own  astonishing  placability. 

And  all  this  because  He  is  the  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 


XI. 


"KNOWEST  THOU  NOT  THAT  THE  BENIG- 
NITY OF  GOD  LEADETH  THEE 
TO  PENANCE?" 

Is  there  any  one  present  who  does  not  wish  to  change 
his  life  ?  However  good,  he  must  be  in  a  sad  delusion. 
At  this  present  moment  where  should  we  be,  if  we  had 
our  due?  In  eternal  punishment,  for  sin,  and  through 
the  absence  of  grace  to  which  we  have  had  no  title. 
If  we  could  always  think  this  thought,  how  changed 
our  lives  would  be ! 
I.  The  benignity  of  God  is  what  has  saved  us — and 

it  is  the  characteristic  of  His  benignity  always  to 

be  leading  us  to  penance. 

1.  At  last  it  overcomes  our  hardness,  by  its  very 

patience  and  forbearance. 

2.  Were  there  less  benignity,  penance  ever  being 

accepted  Avould  be  simply  incredible. 

3.  It  makes  the  penance  not  only  possible,  but  even 

sweet,  by  supernatural  aids. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        23 

4.  Think   of   the  punishment   of  resisting  such   a 

benignity,  and  the  reward  of  obeying  it. 

5.  It    is    because   it    is    benignity  that    it    presses 

penance,  because  it  knows  we  cannot  be  saved 
without  it. 

So  then  penance  is  necessary  to  salvation — look  at  it 
as  we  will. 

II.  Practice. 

1.  Have  we  ever  done  worthy  penance  for  our  sins? 

2.  Anything  like  worthy  penance  ? 

3.  Any  penance  at  all? 

4.  Are  we  going  to  do  any  ? 

5.  What  steps  are  we  going  to  take  ? 

III.  That  I  leave  to  yourselves:    only  I  would  urge 

upon  you  the  three  grand  helps,  and  not  helps 
only,  but  facilities  also,  of  penance. 

1.  Continual  remembrance  of  our  sins. 

2.  Continual  remembrance  of  His  Passion. 

3.  Continual  remembrance  of  an  undoubting  faith 

in.  hell.  The  devil's  worst  and  most  fatal 
preparation  for  the  coming  of  Antichrist  is  the 
weakening  of  men's  belief  in  eternal  punish- 
ment. Were  they  the  last  words  I  might  ever 
say  to  you,  nothing  should  I  wish  to  say  to  you 
with  more  emphasis  than  this,  that  next  to  the 
thought  of  the  Precious  Blood,  there  is  no 
thought  in  all  your  faith  more  precious  or  more 
needful  for  you  than  the  thought  of  Eternal 
Punishment.* 

*  Fourth  Sunday  in  Lent,  1863.    This  was  the  last  occasion  but 
one  on  which  Father  Faber  preached. 


24  PART  I. 

XII. 

"THE    BRUISED    HEED    HE    SHALL    NOT 

BEEAK,   AND  SMOKING   FLAX  HE 

SHALL  NOT  QUENCH." 

Many  things  in  life  are  questionable :   but  this  at 
least  is  unquestionable :  here  we  are  all  agreed. 

I.  If  there  be  one  thing  more  certain  than  another 

it  is  that  we  must  not  go  into  the  eternal  fires 
of  hell :  this  is  beyond  controversy. 

1.  No  difficulties  in  religion  are  to  be  thought  of  in 

comparison  of  this  necessity. 

2.  No  sacrifices  are  too  great  to  be  made  to  ensure  this. 

3.  No  length  of  efforts  is  too  long  to  be  sustained  in 

order  to  escape  this  appalling  doom. 
Hence  we  must  take  religion  as  we  find  it :  we  must 
accept  God  on  His  own  terms. 

II.  The  many  beautiful  descriptions  of  God  and  of 

our  Saviour  in  the  Bible ;  none  seems  to  me 
so  beautiful  as  that  one  in  Isaias  xlii. :  The 
bruised  reed  He  shall  not  break,  and  smoking 
flax  He  shall  not  quench. 

1.  Observe  that    the    Father  says  of   our    Lord's 

Sacred  Heart,  My  soul  delighteth  in  Him:  I 
have  given  My  spirit  upon  Him ;  then  after- 
wards, The  bruised  reed  He  shall  not  break, 
and  smoking  flax  He  shall  not  quench. 

2.  Then  our  Lord  in  St.  Matthew  xii.,  hurt  at  their 

wanting  to  stop  His  doing  good  on  the  Sabbath, 
tells  those  that  He  heals  not  to  make  Him  known 
— and  the  Evangelist  quotes  Isaias,  and  says  our 
Lord  did  this  to  fulfil  that  prophecy. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        25 

3.  The  beauty  of  the  Three  Years'  Ministry  comes 
from  this :  the  woman  at  the  well ;  the  woman 
taken  in  adultery ;  the  great  clear  shining  love 
of  the  great  apostles,  even  that  prince  of  divine 
lovers,  that  model  of  heavenly  enthusiasts,  St. 
Peter,  once  it  was  only  smoking  flax  ;  that  con- 
flagration of  love,  which  has  set  the  Church  on 
fire  for  centuries,  the  Heart  of  Magdalen,  once 
it  was  only  smoking  flax  ;  that  furnace  in  which 
millions  of  hearts  are  for  ever  being  molten,  the 
heart  of  Paul,  once  it  was  flax  that  smoked  so 
little  and  so  feebly  that  it  needed  the  Eye  of  God 
to  see  that  it  smoked  at  all. 
III.  The  ways  in  which  this  is  true  of  God. 

1.  The  immense  value    He   sets   on   the   slightest 

smouldering  of  piety  and  love  in  our  souls ;  how 
He  nurses  beginnings ;  how  He  coaxes  fears  and 
entices  relapses ;  we  read  of  no  feast  days  among 
the  angels,  but  those  to  celebrate  the  return  of 
sinners  to  their  Father  and  their  God. 

2.  In  falls — the  huge  allowances  He  makes ;  Jesus 

even  gave  scandal  by  it ;  slow  to  anger,  swift  to 
pardon  ;  long  in  leaving,  instantaneous  in  coming 
back ;  nay,  effort  is  always  victory  in  His  sense, 
even  when  it  is  defeat. 

3.  He  sees  good  where  we  do  not  see  it ;  it  is  greater 

to  Him  than  it  even  looks  to  us,  and  He  makes 
more  of  it ;  St.  Teresa  even  says  that  often  what 
seems  faults  to  us  are  not  faults  at  all  to  Him. — 
Comfort  of  this.  Surely  without  offending  against 
humility  we  may  trust  we  have  some  bruised  pur- 
poses, ah,  sadly  bruised,  of  good,  some  smoking 
flax,  to  the  eyes  of  Jesus  visible,  of  divine  love ! 


26     .  PART  I. 

Now,  look  at  ourselves,  at  the  kindest  amongst  us, 
how  different  we  are:  we  go  about  life  doing  just  the 
reverse,  breaking  the  bruised,  quenching  the  smoking ; 
our  very  love  is  ungainly  and  unloving,  and  our  charity 
such  a  poor  miserable  shadow  of  what  it  is  in  God ; 
we  are  so  clumsy,  so  awkward,  so  harsh,  so  dry,  so  stiff, 
so  pedantic,  so  unaccommodating,  so  humiliatingly  un- 
tender  and  ungraceful. 

And  what  a  miracle  the  opposite  is  in  God!  how 
the  vastness  of  His  immensity  can  leave  us  so  at  ease 
and  at  large !  the  terrific  extremity  of  His  power  can 
be  so  smooth,  so  soft,  so  light — the  frightening  exac- 
tions of  His  spotless  holiness,  so  kindly,  so  forbearing, 
so  easily  contented,  so  sweetly  unimperious.  Oh  what 
an  incredible  God !  what  must  heaven  be  simply  as  the 
place  where  God's  goodness  has  its  own  unhindered 
and  eternal  way !  See  how  beautiful  this  is — the  ex- 
treme indulgence  of  an  earthly  mother  has  to  come  out 
of  the  very  foolishness  of  her  love !  the  far  more  extreme 
indulgence  of  our  Heavenly  Father  would  be  impossible 
to  anything  but  the  boundless  wisdom  of  a  God.  Ah 
Lord !  with  such  a  God  as  Thee  it  will  not  be  hard  to 
save  our  souls. 


XIII. 
GOD  OUR  FATHER. 

I.  The  beauty  and  consolation  of  this  idea. 

1.  It  destroys  the  sense  of  loneliness  in  the  world ; 

2.  Gives  a  new  and  consoling  view  to  afflictions  and 

chastisements ; 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY..      27 

3.  Makes  the  sense  of  weakness  more  endurable  ; 

4.  Enables  us  to  trust  God  for  problems  we  cannot 

solve. 

5.  Sense  of  relationship  with  all  our  fellowmen. 

II.  How  it  enters  into  all  spiritual  actions. 

1.  In  sin. 

2.  In  sacraments. 

3.  In  aiming  at  perfection. 

4.  In  temptations. 

5.  In  suffering. 

III.  How  God  is  our  Father,  and  proves  Himself  so. 

1.  In  the  ordinary  events  and  course  of  life. 

2.  In  protection  from  evils  which  we  shall  only  know 

at  the  day  of  doom. 

3.  In  answers  to  prayer. 

4.  In  doing  good  to  those  we  love. 

5.  In  forbearance,  and  the  continuance  of  grace. 

IV.  How  He  is  our  Father. 

1.  Not  nominally,  but  really. 

2.  This  comes  out  of  creation. 

(1)  Marvellous  sensible  love. 

(2)  Identity  of  interests. 

(3)  Reflection  of  Self. 

3.  The  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

4.  He  has  made  Himself  still  more  our  Father  by 

covenant ;  and  He  effects  what  He  promises. 

5.  Additional  ties  of  grace  and  glory. 

Happy  sunshine  of  this  thought — (1)  more  trust  in 
Him ;  (2)  more  freedom  with  Him ;  (3)  more  gene- 
rosity towards  Him. 


28  PART  I. 


XIV. 

THE  JOY  OF  BEING  THE  PROPERTY  OF 
GOD. 

There  is  one  wish  ruling  over  all  mankind,  and  it  is 
a  wish  which  is  never  in  any  single  instance  gratified ; 
each  man  wishes  to  be  his  own  master.  It  is  a  boy's 
beatific  vision,  and  it  remains  the  grown-up  man's 
ruling  passion  to  the  last.  But  the  fact  is,  life  is  a 
service ;  the  only  question  is,  whom  we  will  serve  ? 
I.  What  it  is  to  become  the  property  of  our  own  selves. 

1.  Habits  of  sin  which  imperiously  rule  us  even  to 

pain  and  to  death. 

2.  Misery  of  many  wants,  which  gnaw  us  if  we  do 

not  satisfy  them. 

3.  Continual  mortification  of  not  getting  our  own 

way. 

4.  The  few  ruling   passions — so   as  often  to   upset 

reason. 

5.  There  is  not  a  vestige  of  liberty  left  to  us. 
II.  The  property  of  the  world. 

1.  Success  is  a  perpetual  struggle — what  absence  of 

repose. 

2.  Unbearable  tyranny  of  human  respect. 

3.  False  promises  of  worldly  pleasures. 

4.  Total  want  of  sympathy,  and  kindliness  in  the 

world. 

5.  Way  in  which  all  about  us,  reputation,  privacy, 

time,  passes  from  under  our  own  jurisdiction. 
Moreover  those  two  services  make  us  in  effect  the 
property  of  Satan. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLT  TRINITY.       29 

III.  The  property  of  God.  "I  belong  to  God — what  is 
all  else  to  me ! "  Blessing  of  this  indifference  to  us ; 
most  unhappiness  is  from  want  of  indifference. 

1.  We  belong  to  Him   by  all  titles;   but  He  will 

have  us  give  ourselves  to  Him  of  ourselves. 

2.  In   His    service    every    hardship    has    its    own 

reward,  every  sorrow  its  special  consolation. 

3.  In  sorrow  the  sweetness, 

(1)  As  coming  from  our  Father. 

(2)  As  deeply  compassionated  by  Him. 

(3)  As  eternally  rewarded. 

4.  In  joy, 

(1)  That  it  is  pleasing  to  God. 

(2)  Of  a  heavenly  character,  and 

(3)  Leaves  the  soul  at  rest. 

5.  In  work, 

(1)  It  is  for  God. 

(2)  No  fretfulness  about  success. 

(3)  Full  of  spirit  and  courage. 

6.  In  weariness, 

(1)  Sweet  sense  of  fatigue  for  God. 

(2)  How  He  rests  us  with  beautiful  soft  thoughts 
and  visitations. 

(3)  He  is  no  taskmaster. 

7.  In  death, 

(1)  Full  of  solemnity  but  not  of  terror. 

(2)  A  beginning,  not  an  end. 

(3)  Tremulous  joy  of  increasing  nearness  to  God. 
And  then  He  takes  His  property  back  again,  dearest 

of  Masters,  and  we  go  to  Him,  and  then  and  not  before, 
and  there  and  not  elsewhere,  we  are  at  rest;  for  His 
bosom  is  the  weary  man's  own  house — his  very  own 
delightful  home! 


30  PART  I. 

XV. 

GOD'S  LOVE  OF  SINGLE  SOULS. 

A  soul  of  mediocrity :  its  unexciting  commonplace- 
ness  to  us. 
I.  God's  view  of  it. 

1.  Intense  interest  simply  because  it  is  a  goul. 

2.  Eternal  choice  of  it,  and  mysterious  preference 

of  it  to  other  possible  souls. 

3.  Desire  to  have  its  eternal  companionship,  as  if 

an  augmentation  of  His  glory. 

4.  A  certain  peculiar  glory  destined  for  it. 

5.  It  represents  some  definite  peculiar  beauty  and 

excellence  in  God  Himself. 

II.  His  behavior  to  it. 

1.  Every  single   perfection    exercised    for   it,  and 

livelily  interested  in  it. 

2.  The  yearning  character  of  His  immense  love  for  it. 

3.  The  way  in  which  He  interests  all  other  crea- 

tures in  it. 

4.  His  separate  devotion  to  that  one  soul. 

5.  The  devices  and  condescensions  with  which  He 

makes  love  to  it. 

III.  The  Three  Persons.      ' 

1.  The  Eternal  Father 

(1)  Is  stirred  in  all  the  abysses  of  His  Paternity; 

(2)  Would  give  His  Son  a  second  time  for  its 
salvation ; 

(3)  Receives  it,   as   a   returning  prodigal,  again 
and  again. 

2.  The  Eternal  Son. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        31 

(1)  The  immensity  of  His  wisdom  makes  Him 

love  it  all  the  more. 

(2)  Ready  to  be  crucified  a  second  time  for  that 

one  soul  alone. 

(3)  Continual  communication  of  Himself  to  it  in 

grace  and  sacraments. 
3.  The  Eternal  Spirit. 

(1)  His  immense  Will  bent  on  that  one  soul. 

(2)  His  faithful,  pathetic  pleadings  with  it,  as 

if  almost  there  might  be  some  unhappiness 
in  God. 

(3)  How  tenderly  His  omnipotence  handles  that 

single  soul. 

So  it  is  as  if  the  Holy  Trinity  could  not  bear  to  part 
with  the  creature  who  had  been  an  eternal  idea  in  His 
mind,  an  eternal  love  in  His  affections. 

And  all  this  is  for  my  one  soul — my  soul  juet  as  it  is 
now — my  soul  just  as  I  know  it  to  be !  Surely,  I  must 
either  lose  my  faith,  or  die  of  love. 


XVI. 

THE  STRANGENESS  OF  GOD'S  LOVE 

FOR  US. 

Many  persons  go  about  the  world  without  in  the 
least  seeming  to  see  anything  strange  or  preternatural 
in  life ;  nay,  none  of  us  realize  how  much  is  involved 
in  common  things  and  everyday  expressions.      God's 
love  of  us — we  take  it  for  granted — let  us  look  into  it. 
I.  How  do  we  know  God  loves  us? 
1.  It  is  not  our  own  loveliness. 


32  PAET  I. 

2.  Nor  the  state  of  the  world,  with  sickness,  death, 

&c. 

3.  We  find  a  difficulty  in  religion,  from  the  facility 

of  sin,  chance  of  hell,  &c. 

4.  Yet  there  is  something  in  our  nature  which  refuses 

to  let  us  believe  in  the  possibility  of  the  Creator 
not  loving  His  creatures. 

II.  Why  does  He  love  us  ? 

1.  Not  for  our  merit's  sake. 

2.  Not  for  any  dignity  or  intrinsic  worth  we  have. 

3.  Because  of  His  own  adorable  perfection  of  infi- 

nite love. 

III.  What  kind  of  a  love  does  He  love  us  with  ? 

1.  The  very  absence  of  all  worth  on  our  part  shows 

that  His  love  is  a  wonderful  thing,  quite  different 
from  human  love. 

2.  Hi&  love  of  us  as  our  Creator. 

3.  His  love  of  us  as  our  Redeemer. 

4.  All  the  imaginable  kinds  of  human  love  together 

approach  not  to  this. 

IV.  What  a  support  to  us  this  consideration  is ! 

1.  He  will  accept  our  least  services. 

2.  It  is  not  easy  to  weary  and  exhaust  His  love. 

3.  Past  blessings  and  graces  are  a  sort  of  guarantee 

for  future  ones. 

4.  There  must  be  a  loving  meaning  in  all  adversity 

and  suffering. 

5.  How  wonderful  must  be  that  state  in  which  these 

two  wonders,  the  two  loves  of  Creator  and  Re- 
deemer, are  satisfied  and  fulfilled  in  the  creature's 
glory. 

Importance  to  ourselves  and  acceptableness  to  God 
in  our  having  a  most  vivid  faith  and  a  bold  trust  in 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       33 

God's  love  of  us :  it  is  quite  a  sign  of  predestination 
— to  feel  as  if  we  could  not  be  lost,  for  all  we  are  the 
miserable  perverse  sinners  that  we  are.  No!  God  is 
for  us — who  shall  be  against  us? 


XVII. 

"BE  NOT  DECEIVED— GOD  IS  NOT 
MOCKED." 

How  the  Bible  is  always  startling  us !  We  children 
of  men  are  deeply  fallen,  but  are  we  come  to  this — 
that  we  dare  to  mock  God  ?  It  seems  incredible.  We 
children  of  men  are  indeed  far  gone  in  folly :  but  are 
we  come  to  such  downright  madness  as  this,  that  we 
mock  God?  Yet  an  apostle  thinks  it  needful  to  warn 
us  against  it.  There  are  few  things  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  stranger  than  this. 
I.  To  mock  God. 

1.  The  scene  in  Herod's  courtyard:    what  if  His 

Divinity  had  burst  forth! 

2.  God  in  Hi#  Majesty,  amidst  the  burning  angels, 

and  the  vast  fires  of  heaven. 

3.  God  with  the  inexorable  pressure  of  His  just 

hand  in  hell. 

4.  But  even  in  hell  no  one  dares  to  mock. 

5.  To  mock  God !  unspeakable,  unimaginable  wild- 

ness  !  I  never  heard  even  of  madness  that  did 
it.  Yet  an  apostle  thinks  it  a  sin  we  are  not 
unlikely  to  fall  into. 

II.  Who  mocks  God?     I  fear  there  is  no  one  of  us 
Vol.  I.  C 


34  PART  L 

who  has  not  at  some  time  mocked  Him.  What  if 
we  are  mocking  Him  now?  as  in  Herod's  court. 
What  it  is  to  promise  to  God. 

1.  Those  who  promise  to  him  and  do  not  perform 

— perhaps  hardly  mean  to  perform  when  they 
promise. 

2.  Those  who  perform  carelessly  and  indifferently. 

3.  Those  who  do  not  take  even  the  trouble  to  pro- 

mise, like  not  answering  a  man  when  he  speaks 
to  you. 

4.  Those  who  delay,  trusting  to  future  repentance. 

5.  Those  who  do  some  things  for  God,  and  leave 

other  things  undone,  as  if  they  were  His  judges 
and  superiors. 
III.  Playing  a  part  with  God  is  a  mockery  of  Him. 

1.  Shirking  examination  of  conscience  and  self,  for 

fear  of  discovering  things  to  change. 

2.  Indefinitely  adjourning  correspondence  to  grace. 

3.  Bargaining  with  God  for  reserves. 

4.  Praying    for   what    we    seriously   do   not  wish. 

Thy  will  be  done,  &c. 

5.  Trying  to  outwit  Him — to   have  both  worlds — 

to  make  him  equal  to  others,  not  sovereign,  &c. 
Oh,  it  makes  one  desperate  to  see  how  men  go  on 
with  God.  Do  you  not  see  that  He  is  not  in  the 
least  the  God  your  conduct  makes  Him  out  to  be? 
Do  you  not  perceive  that  everything  is  mockery  of 
God  which  is  not  th  j  fear  of  Him,  the  day-long,  the 
life-long  fear  of  His  most  holy  and  everwhelming 
Majesty?  You — you  who  have  not  the  courage  to 
throw  God  off  altogether,  but  are  serving  Him  with 
half  a  heart — you  who  pray  at  times,  who  come  to 
church,  who  give  an  occasional  alms,  but  to  whom 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       35 

fashion,  pleasure,  frivolity,  expensiveness,  amusement, 
are  far  more  sensibly  swoet  than  God — do  you  imagine 
God  does  not  see  through  you  ?  Do  you  imagine 
you  will  succeed  ?  Do  you  suppose  you  will  surprise ' 
God,  and  slip  into  a  heaven  by  a  stratagem  ?  Fools ! 
Fools!  Do  you  not  see  the  enormity  of  the  imper- 
tinence, which  even  your  very  religion  is  to  His 
unspeakable  truthfulness,  to  His  inexorable  sanctity  ? 
Oh  incredible  audacity  of  human  nature,  audacious  in 
its  levity,  audacious  in  its  insincerity !  How  a  cruel, 
a  very  cruel,  but  strictly  just  eternity  will  swallow 
up  souls  by  millions,  because  they  would  neither  face 
this  honest  truth,  nor  live  upon  it — that  everything 
is  mockery  of  God  except  a  downright  genuine  con- 
version of  the  heart ! 


XVIII. 
GOD  SO  LITTLE  LOVED. 

I.  Some  things  are  so  serious  that  we  say  we  cannot 
allow  them  to  go  on  any  longer ;  and  then  it  is 
amazing  what  the  power  of  our  wills  can  do. 
Now  here  is  a  very  serious  matter — God  being  so 
little  loved.  Can  we  look  on  this  with  indiffer- 
ence? 

1.  The  honor  of  God  being  so  little  loved. 

2.  His  immense  majesty. 

3.  His  own  incomparable  goodness  to  us. 

4.  What  must  happen  to  those  who  do  not  love 

Him? 

5.  What  danger  those  are  in  who  love  Him  so  little. 


36  PART  I. 

6.  All  the  miseries  of  this  life  are  because  of  God 

not  being  loved. 

7.  Hell  is  also  filling  hourly. 

8.  And  all  the  while  the  love  of  God  seems  really 

growing  less  and  less. 

II.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  we  are  indifferent  to 
all  this  ?     No. 

1.  Are  we  doing  anything  to  hinder  it? 

2.  Does  it  give  us  any  real  sorrow  or  uneasiness  ? 

3.  Was    life    then   meant  for  other  things   to  be 

attended  to,  and  this  to  be  neglected  ? 

4.  Is  religion  a  private   luxury — a  simple  sofa  of 

sweet  soft  thoughts  for  conscience  to  lie  down 
upon  and  take  its  ease  ? 

5.  Love  is  work — God  must  have  work  from  us — 

real  thorough  work. 

6.  We  can  at  least  begin  with  ourselves  and  increase 

our  own  love  of  Him  ; 

7.  And  we  must  begin  at  once,  to-day,  this  morning ; 

8.  And  we  must  begin  manfully  and  in  earnest.  We 

want  conversion — nothing  short  of  it — look  at 
the  past ;  it  will  never  do. 

III.  But  we  cannot  stop  at  self.     Is  our  piety  to  go  to 
sleep  while  the  world  is  perishing  ? 

1.  Are  all  these  souls  to  perish  and  we  not  to  lift  an 

arm? 

2.  But  what  can  we  do  ?     Oh !  rather  what  can  we 

not  do? 

3.  Prayer  is  pretty  well  omnipotent,  and  we  can  all 

do  that. 

4.  But  have  we  ever  set  ourselves  to  pray  down  the 

sins  of  London  ? 

5.  But  I  must  have  something  more  than  prayer 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        37 

— God's  cause  is  in  fearful  case — I  must  have 
great  things. 

6.  Can  you  not  send  a  child  to  school,  or  bring  a 

sinner  to  the  sacraments  ? 

7.  Or  give  more  abundant  alms  to  good  works  ? 

8.  Driven  to  a  holy  despair  by  the  awful  scenes  of 

dead  and  dying  souls  around  you,  what  sacrifices 
are  you  making  for  Him  who  sacrificed  Himself 
upon  the  cross  for  you  ? 

Look  the  crucifix  in  the  face,  and  answer  these  ques- 
tions, not  to  me,  but  to  Him. 


XIX. 

MORE"  FOR  GOD* 

My  brethren,  I  wish  you  would  be  more  for  God 
than  you  are ! 

We  have  been  among  the.  mountains  lately,  the  dark 
mountains  of  the  Passion,  and  the  illuminated  heights 
of  the  Resurrection:  now  let  us  look  at  ourselves,  at 
our  own  height,  our  place  before  God,  our  union  with 
Him,  our  practice  of  virtues,  our  correspondence  to 
grace. 
I.  Easter  questions. 

1.  Will  this  do?     Is   it  safe,  just  as  it  is?     Is  it 

satisfactory  ? 

2.  Is  it  capable  of  being  improved  ? 

3.  If  so,  of  what  sort  of  improvement? 

4.  Have  we  actually  set  about  this  work  ? 

*  Low  Sunday,  1861. 


38  PART  I. 

5.  If  not,  why  not?     For  what  reason  have  we  de- 
layed ?     Have  we  decided  not  to  improve  ? 

II.  More  for  God. 

1.  Do  you  not  need  to  be  so  ? 

(1)  Is  God  satisfied  ? 

(2)  Could  you  die  as  you  are  ? 

(3)  Do  you   look  forward  to  never  being   more 
than  you  are  ?     If  you  do,  you  will  not  even 
be  saved. 

2.  Do  you  not  wish  to  be  so  ? 

(1)  The  marvellous  contentment  of  it. 

(2)  The  safety  of  it. 

(3)  The  immense  recompense. 

3.  Yet  is  it  not  easy  ? 

(1)  More  for  God — if  it  were  but  a  little  more. 

(2)  More    for    God — if   it   were   but    gradually 
more. 

(3)  And   even   were   it  hard,   would   it   not   be 

worth  while. 

III.  All  for  God. 

1.  This  surely  is  the  sweet  and  glorious  thing.* 

2.  The  wonder  that  we  can  be  anything  else.     It  is 

the  common  sense  of  life. 

3.  This  alone  makes  life  bright,  and  death  delight- 

ful, and  eternity  so  replenished  with  glory. 

4.  Yet,  alas!    how  little  we  are  for  God — how  in- 

significant His  place  in  our  lives. 

5.  Then  I  will  be  contented  to  ask  you  to  be  more 

for  God,  somewhat  more  than  now.  Nay,  I 
will  ask  you  only  this.  By  His  Cross  and 
Passion,  and  by  His  glorious  Resurrection,  to 
resolve  now  to  be  more  for  God  than  you  are. 

*Eccles.  xliii.  32. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        39 

At  least  deliberate  about  it — at  least  seriously 
entertain  the  idea. 

For  your  own  sake,  for  God's  sake,  I  cannot  bear 
that  you  should  be  so  little  for  God  as  you  are.  I  do 
not  ask  you  to  be  all  for  God,  only  to  be  more  for  God, 
more  for  God  than  you  are.  I  ask  no  more  than  this, 
because  I  think  I  should  get  no  more.  Is  it  want  of 
faith  in  you  or  want  of  love  for  you  ?  Oh,  not  want  of 
love  for  you,  but  it  is  want  of  faith  in  you.  Ought  I 
to  be  ashamed  of  this  want  of  faith,  or  ought  you  to 
be  ashamed  ?  Anyhow,  of  one  thing  I  am  ashamed :  I 
am  ashamed  to  look  a  thousand  Christians  in  the  face 
at  Easter,  and  yet  not  dare  to  ask  them  to  be  all  for 
God.  But  I  dare  not,  and  therefore  I  do  not.  But 
will  you  try  to  be  a  little  more  for  Him  than  you  are  ? 


XX. 

WILL  YOU  COME  TO  GOD  NOW? 

I.  Years  have  passed,  and  each  year  God  called  you. 
He  urged  you,  He  begged,  He  prayed,  He  entreated, 
He  made  great  promises.  But  you  would  not.  The 
world,  youth,  riches,  honors,  above  all  things,  pleas- 
ures, were  tempting.  God  was  put  off.  Will  you 
come  to  God  now?  If  we  would  not  then,  why 
should  we  now  ? 

1.  Because  we  have  lived  longer,  and  we  cannot  help 

learning  more  and  more  that  the  salvation  of 
the  soul  is  our  grand  and  only  work.  Will  you 
come  to  God  now  ? 

2.  Because,  if  it  was  always  dangerous  to  delay,  it 


40  PART  I. 

always  grows  more  dangerous.  Will  you  come 
to  God  now  ? 

3.  Because  we  have  enjoyed  our  share  of  the  world, 

and  it  is  at  least  God's  turn  now.  Will  you 
come  to  God  now  ? 

4.  Because,  when  we  see  others  who  serve  God,  and 

think  it  all  over,  we  suspect  we  magnified  both 
the  difficulties  and  the  dulness  of  being  religious. 
Will  you  come  to  God  now  ? 

5.  Because  the  world,  we  must  confess,  has  disap- 

pointed us.     Will  you  come  to  God  now  ? 

6.  Nay  more,  it  has  been  an  exceedingly  heavy  yoke 

upon  us.     Will  you  come  to  God  now? 

7.  Because  death  is  advancing  very  rapidly.     Will 

you  come  to  God  now  ? 

8.  Because  we  cannot  face  the  eternal  tortures,  and 

repentance  grows  harder  by  delay.  Will  you 
come  to  God  now  ? 

9.  Because  there  is  an  irresistible  sweetness  in  God's 

very  invitation.     Will  you  come  to  God  now  ? 
II.  Practical  Reflections. 

1.  God  is  waiting  to  forgive,  eager  to  forgive. 

2.  His  salvation  is  abundant,  complete,  and  full  of 

delightful  pleasantness. 

3.  Our  past  sins  will  be  all  obliterated. 

4.  We  shall  get  ample   supplies  of  grace  for  the 

future. 

5.  Peace,  rest,  brightness — will  gather   round   our 

remaining  years:  and  all  these  things  will  be 
the  greater,  the  younger  we  are  when  we  give 
ourselves  to  God. 

Can   there  be  a  heaven   upon   earth,  a  joy  that  is 
more  than  a  match  for  any  sorrow?     Oh  yes!   it  is 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       41 

the  joy  of  those  who  have  trusted  God's  goodness,  the 
blessedness  of  those  who  have  found  peace  and  pardon 
in  Jesus  Christ. 


XXI. 

A  TASTE  FOR  GOD. 

We  are  apt  to  exaggerate  the  change  which  death 
makes  in  ourselves,  because  it  makes  so  tremendous  a 
change  in  our  position.     We  must  not  confound  these 
two  things :  as  the  tree  falls,  so  shall  it  lie. 
I.  What  will  cause  our  joy  in  heaven  ? 

1.  It  is  a  life  of  prayer,  praise,  vision,  and  contem- 

plation. 

2.  To  an  evil  spirit  or  impenitent  soul  it  would  be 

the  sheerest  monotonous  misery. 

3.  God,  and  only  God,  is  the  direct  bliss  of  heaven. 

4.  He  is  also  the  joyousness  of  the  indirect  joys  in 

heaven. 

5.  So  the  best  we  can  take  to  heaven  is  a  taste  for 

God  and  the  things  of  God :  our  real  tastes  are 
not  the  best  prophecies  of  our  predestination. 
II.  What  are  our  tastes  now  ? 

1.  Distinguish  between  our  tastes  and  our  frailties ; 

as  a  miser  may  be  led  into  expense  by  love  of 
pleasure. 

2.  Are  prayer,  sermons,  services,  distinctly  pleasures 

to  us? 

3.  Have  we  a  taste  for  God,  and  the  things  of  God? 

4.  How  is  our  taste  for  God,  alongside  of  our  taste 

for  the  world  ? 


42  PART  I. 

5.  Scripture  moreover  assures  that  the  two  are  in- 
compatible. 

III.  A  taste  for  God  is  a  magnificent  grace ;  it  is  such 

a  security  to  us ;  such  a  thing  to  rest  upon ; 
such  a  proof  to  us  that  \ve  are  drawn  into  a 
supernatural  world.  In  what  it  consists. 

1.  Sweetness  in  the  thought  of  God. 

2.  The  thought  of  God  quietly  making  itself  the 

center,  and  righting  itself  after  struggles.  We 
have  disturbances,  but  gravitate  back  to  God 
when  they  are  past. 

3.  Resting  in  God,  even  when  there  is  no  sensible 

sweetness. 

4.  Contentment,  coming  of  this  rest. 

5.  Something  inward  which  is  beyond  words. 

6.  It  does  not  in  itself  secure  holiness,  but  it  goes 

far  towards  doing  so. 

7.  It  is  a  gift  of  God,  yet  I  incline  to  think  it  can 

be  acquired. 

IV.  How  it  is  to  be  cultivated  and  dealt  with. 

1.  It  must  be  taken  care  of,  and  defended  against 

dangers. 

2.  And  even  augmented  by  our  own  efforts. 

3.  We  must  not  presume  on  it,  as  if  of  itself  it 

would  kill  worldliness  like  some  antidote. 

4.  We  must  not  be  afraid  of  its  manifest  encroach- 

ments towards  sovereignty. 

5.  Its  growth  is  in  a  life  of  prayer. 

6.  Its  health  is  in  sweet  patient  lovingness  to  all 

around  us. 

7.  To  ourselves  it  is  our   life,  the  budding  of  our 

eternity :  not  a  sight  or  hearing,  or  an  odor, 
or  even  a  taste,  though  we  call  it  so:  it  is  a 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       43 

touch  of  God,  yet  not  a  touch  outside  us,  but  a 
touch  on  our  souls  within  us,  and  so  causing  a 
taste ;  a  touch  in  the  dark,  which  often  makes 
us  lie  still  and  thrill  with  love. 


XXII. 
OUR  HOME  IN  GOD, 

In  the  Bosom  of  the  Most  High  God,  amid  the 
astounding  marvels  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  amid 
the  boundless  silences  and  the  uncreated  fires  of  the 
illimitable  majesty  of  God — there  is  our  home — there 
is  to  be  our  life — there  are  our  interests,  our  tastes, 
and  our  occupations  for  all  eternity !  What  an  in- 
credible faith,  incredible  even  from  the  very  exceeding- 
ness  of  its  simplicity.  What  grave,  broad  thoughts  it 
suggests  to  us,  and  yet  such  homely,  plain  practical 
truths!  The  grandeur  of  the  Mystery  of  the  Most 
Holy  Trinity  makes  us  children  all  at  once. 
I.  Description  of  our  Home. 

1.  Multitudinous  Majesty  of  God,  outlying  beyond 

all  spaces,  full  of  countless  ever-flashing  life. 

2.  The  ravishing  loveliness  and  eternal  surprises  of 

His  Attributes. 

3.  The   adorable    grandeur    and   sweetness   of   the 

Three  Persons. 

4.  The  immensity  of  the  revelations  of  the  Vision ; 

and  yet, 

5.  The  jubilee  of  the  incomprehensibility  of  God. 
II.  The  life  we  lead  in  that  Home. 

1.  Beauty  beyond  all  imaginable  beauty. 


44  PART  I. 

2.  Interestingness,  fascination,  and  absorption. 

3.  Joy  that  would  break  the  hearts  of  all  .the  men 

who  ever  have  been  created  is  not  as  one  drop 
to  our  joy  in  the  Bosom  of  God. 

4.  Magnificence  of  the  love  with  which  we  can  love 

there. 

5.  But  overwhelming  ecstacy  of  the  love  with  which 

we  are  loved. 
III.  The  life  we  are  now  living  is  at  once  nothing, 

and  yet  all  in  all  to  that  life. 
Practical  Conclusions. 

1.  Are  our  present  tastes  and  interests   fitting  us 

for  it? 

2.  Are  our  present  occupations  congenial  to  it,  and 

practising  for  it  ? 

3.  How  immensely  we  must  be  changed  even  to  bear, 

let  alone  enjoy,  that  other  life! 

4.  How  obviously  our  spiritual  life  must  be  our  one 

care  here ! 

5.  What  is  it  we  want?  what  is  it  we  must  cultivate? 

A  desire  for  God  ! 

My  brethren!  is  it  well  with  our  souls?  How 
shall  we  know?  Each  passing  year  does  the  sense 
of  exile  grow  upon  us,  the  feeling  that  earth  is  not 
our  home?  Do  we  become  less  interested  in  worldly 
things,  and  more  weary  of  them,  yet  with  an  active, 
practical,  charitable  weariness?  Does  a  kind  of 
Christian  discontent  spread  more  and  more  over  our 
souls,  and  yet  grow  more  peaceful,  as  we  grow  more 
discontented  ?  All  this  is  well ;  but  it  must  pass  into 
something  higher,  something  deeper,  something  sweeter 
— into  a  hunger  and  a  thirst  for  God  ! 


part  jflret 

GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY. 


SECTION  II. 
THE  HOLY  GHOST. 


45 


I. 

THE  HOLY  GHOST* 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE  PROCESSION  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 

WE  are  going  to  dare  to  mount  up  into  the  eternal  life 
of  God,  to  see  what  we  may  be  able  to  see  regarding 
the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Third  Person  of  the  Undivided 
Trinity.  We  must  leave  far  behind  us  all  the  ideas 
and  images  of  earth.  Our  inquiry  must  itself  be  an  act 
of  worship,  and  its  end  be  more  holiness  and  fresh  love. 
We  must  be  content  sometimes  with  words,  which  seem 
to  have  but  little  meaning,  the  little  meaning  being  not 
in  the  thing  signifying,  but  in  their  way  of  signifying 
it,  with  momentary  glimpses  of  bright  things,  which 
are  almost  immediately  withdrawn  again — with  rev- 
erent guesses — with  truths  half  seen — with  pictures, 
which  though  seen,  rather  puzzle  us  than  represent 
anything  intelligible.  Are  we  willing  to  hazard  such 
an  enterprise?  Let  us  see. 

I.  The  effects  upon  the  soal  of  investigating  any 
portion  of  the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 
1.  The  unworldliness  which  the  inquiry  gives. 

*The  five  following  chapters  are  the  sketch  of  a  proposed 
Treatise. 

47 


48  PART  I. 

(1)  Because   the   images   and   ideas   are   all  un- 
earthly. 

(2)  Because  we  know  the  intense  and  transcen- 
dental truth  of  it  all. 

(3)  Because  it  helps  towards  either  self-oblivion 
or  self-contempt. 

2.  There  is  a  reality  in  everything  about  God — so 

that  we  cannot  come  in  contact  with  Him  with- 
out something  happening  to  us:  a  child  amid 
tools  and  machines,  metals  and  precious  stones, 
of  which  he  does  not  know  the  names  or  uses, 
or  to  whom  the  names  are  only  hard  words,  yet 
has  grown  in  mind  by  what  he  has  seen  :  how 
much  more  then  with  the  things  of  God  ! 

3.  From  this  reality  it  comes  to  pass  that  some  sub- 

stantial effect  is  wrought  by  this  in  our  souls. 

(1)  Our  faith  is  enriched,  and  also  invigorated  by 
the  exercise. 

(2)  A  celestial  standard  of  beauty,  as  yet  beyond 
the  grasp  of  our  own  thoughts,  is  infused  into 
our  souls. 

(3)  The  powers  of  the  soul  probably  gain  new 
capabilities  by  contact  with  God. 

4.  We  unconsciously  gain,  and  hereafter  find  out,  a 

better  understanding  of  the  mysteries  around  us, 
e.g.  creation,  the  permission  of  evil,  the  variety 
of  graces  in  men,  the  exclusiveness  of  truth, 
God's  seemingly  arbitrary  ways  with  His  crea- 
tures, and  other  problems,  of  which  each  indi- 
vidual mind  has  one  or  more  peculiar  to  itself, 
haunting  and  distressing  it  by  its  distorted 
shapes  and  exaggerated  shadows. 

5.  The    knowledge  we  obtain    by  such    inquiries 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       49 

gradually  dawns  into  a  clearer  and  quieter  view 
of  God. 

6.  Love  outgrows  knowledge,  and  comes  from  the 

inquiry,  even  when  there  are  so  few  appreciable 
results ;  this  is  partly  because  of — 

(1)  The  reality  of  God. 

(2)  The  standard  of  beauty  infused  into  us. 

(3)  Our  own  personal  concern  with  the  mystery 
in  question. 

7.  It  is  always  to  be  remembered  that  it  is  our  own 

eternal  home  which  we  are  looking  at. 

II.  The   object   of  our  present   inquiry  is  the   Holy 

Ghost:  Who  is  He? 

1.  True  and  Eternal  God. 

2.  One  only,  however,  of  the  Three  Divine  Persons. 

3.  The  last  of  the  Three  in  order,  but  All  co-equal. 

4.  Of  Whom   many   marvellous   distinctive   things 

have  been  revealed. 

5.  Who    manifests    a    peculiar   love    of   ourselves, 

proper  to  Himself,  and  shown  in  His  own 
way. 

6.  Who  has  been  mixed  up  secretly  with  all  our 

lives  since  childhood. 

7.  Who  is  actually  dwelling  in  us  at  this  moment 

in  a  peculiar  manner,  over  and  above  the 
omnipresence  of  God — quite  different  from  the 
dwelling  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  within  us, 
yet  only  to  be  paralleled  by  that. 

III.  The  life  of  God. 

1.  It  is  the  same  this  hour  that  it  ever  was:  as  it 

never  had  any  beginning,  so  it  has  had  no  past 

history — but  it  is  one  simple  act  never  begun, 

never  finished,  never  in  process  from  a  beginning, 

Vol.  I.  D 


50  PART  I. 

never  on  its  progress  towards  an  end,  never 
left  incomplete. 

2.  All  acts  in  God  are  necessary ;  else  God  would 

not  be  perfect,  there  would  be  something  in 
Him  which  need  not  have  been  there,  which 
He  could  do  without,  and  this  it  would  be 
blasphemy  to  say.  Inside  Himself,  God  has  no 
liberty :  to  the  grandeur  of  His  simplicity  liberty 
would  be  a  feebleness  and  an  imperfection. 

3.  Unity  of  Essence : — this  unity  is  so  unspeakable 

that  the  word  is  below  the  meaning ;  all  closest 
unities  are  but  far-off  shadows  of  it :  it  consists — 

(1)  In  singularity. 

(2)  In  indivisibility. 

(3)  In  simplicity. 

(4)  In  identity. 

(5)  In  plenitude. 

4.  Trinity  of  Persons. 

(1)  The  Unbegotten  Father. 

(2)  By  His  knowledge  of  Himself  and  all  things 

begetting  the  Word. 

(3)  And  these  Two,  as  one  principle,  by  Their 

love  of  each  other  and  of  all  things,  breathing 
forth  the  Holy  Spirit. 

(4)  And    the    Holy    Spirit    returning    upcm  the 

Two,  and  being   their  junction,  expression, 
joy,  term,  and  love. 

(5)  All  co-equal,  co-eternal,  consubstantial :   one 

substance  as  described  above. 

(6)  No  sort  of  inequality ;  only  priority  of  order 

and  emanation. 

(7)  Yet   with    the   most   extraordinary   distinct- 

nesses as  Persons. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        51 

5.  This  is  the  completion  of  the  life  of  God, — which 
causes  it  to  result — 

(1)  In  the  most  stationary  immutability. 

(2)  In  the  most  vital  activity. 

(3)  In  the  most  indefinable  simplicity  of  act. 

(4)  In  the  most  profound  peaceful  separateness, 
yet  universality. 

(5)  All    combining    in   the    most    unimaginable 
abysmal  beatitude. 

IV.  The  Procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

1.  His  procession  is  not  from  the  Divine  Essence 

viewed  as  apart  from  the  Two  Persons,  but  from 
the  Two  Persons  as  subsisting. 

2.  He  proceeds  from  the  Two  Persons,  as  one  prin- 

ciple.. 

3.  He  proceeds  by  the  way  of  the  will,  as  the  Son 

by  the  way  of  the   understanding :   hence   the 
Procession  is  not  a  generation. 

4.  To  use  a  human  word,  the  method  is  by  respira- 

tion : — and  therefore  is — 

(1)  From  the  interior. 

(2)  From  the  ardor  of  love. 

(3)  Perpetually,  by  the,  so  to  call   it,  identical 
reciprocity  of  the  love  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son. 

(4)  Refreshing  as  it  were  the  inward  heat, — the 
necessity  in  God  of  this   refreshment,  if  we 
may  dare  so  to  speak. 

5.  From  the  triple  love  of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

(1)  Appreciation. 

(2)  Benevolence. 

(3)  Complacency. 

6.  The  love  of  us  and  of  all  creatures,  entered  into 


52  PART  I. 

the  love  by  which  He  proceeded,  not  necessarily, 
but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  per  accidens  et  concomi- 
tanter. 

7.  This  Procession  is  eternal,  and  is  eternally  going 

on  every  moment,  as  part  of  God's  life,  like  the 
breathing  of  a  living  man. 

8.  Yet   He   who  thus   proceeds   is   in   all   respects 

co-equal,   co-eternal    and    consubstantial    with 
Those  from  whom  He  proceeds. 
V.  Certain  eminences  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

1.  What  He  does  for  the  Person  of  the  Father. 

(1)  Gives  Him  an  exercise  for  His  unbegotten 
fecundity. 

(2)  Gives  Him  an  expression  for  His  love  of  the 
Son. 

(3)  Is  as  it  were  the  terminal  ocean  to  Him  as 
fountain  of  deity. 

2.  What  He  does  for  the  Person  of  the  Son. 

(1)  Gives  Him  an  exercise  for  the  fecundity  the 
Father  communicated  to  Him. 

(2)  Gives  Him  an  expression  for  His  love  of  the 
Father. 

(3)  Illustrates  the  distinctness  of  His  Person  from 
that  of  the  Father. 

(4)  Is  the  occasion  to  Him  of  the  grandeur  ur' 
being,  with  the   Father,  the  principle  of  ;i 
Divine  Person. 

3.  What  He  does  equally  for  Both  of  Them. 

(1)  Unspeakably  sanctifies  Them  by  the  exercise 
of  love.* 

(2)  Returns  to  Them  Both  as  an  impulse ; 

(3)  And  is  reflected  by  Them  ; 

*  Bail,  Theologie  Affective,  2me.  Traite,  Med.  xii. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        53 

(4)  And  draws  an  eternally  beautiful  life  out  of 

Them. 

(5)  By  a  procession  which  is  to  Them,  as  well  as 

to  Him,  an  infinite  beatitude. 

4.  He  is  the  bond  or  chain  or  kiss  of  the  Father 

and  the  Son. 

(1)  For  they  have  no  plurality  as  the  principle 

of  Him,  but  one  simple  sovereign  unity. 

(2)  They   have   but   one   relation   to   the    Holy 

Spirit,  not  Each  of  Them  a  separate  rela- 
tion ; 

(3)  And  he  has  but  one  relation  to  them. 

(4)  The  Father  could  not  be  this  bond ;  for  the 

Son   and    the   Holy   Ghost    have    different 
relations  to  Him. 

(5)  Nor  the  Son  for  the  same  reason  ;  because  the 

Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost  have  different 
relations  to  Him. 

(6)  Unutterable  strength  of  this  uncreated  Bond, 

who  is  a  Person. 

(7)  The  life  of  God  is  completed  in  it — not  held 

together  by  it;    for  that  would  imply  com- 
position, which  is  impossible. 

5.  He  is  the  term  of  the  interior  productions  and 

necessary  acts  in  God. 

(1)  The  last  Person  produced,  as  if  God  would 

mix  with  creatures   unless  He  has  a  term, 
a  term  to  His  infinite  life ! 

(2)  The  only  Person  not  Himself  producing,  but 

returning  backwards  rather. 

(3)  His    knowledge    of    Himself    essential    and 

speculative,  not  productive. 

(4)  The  same  is  true  also  of  His  will. 


54  PART  I. 

(5)  Note  then  that  the  fulness  of  God  and  the 
repose  of  God  is  not  in  knowledge  but  in 
love:  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  uncreated 
sabbath  of  the  life  of  God ! 

VI.  He  is  the  jubilee  of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

1.  Because  He  is  their  term — and  so  completeness 

— and  so  beatitude. 

2.  Because   He   is   Genitoris  Genitique  suavitas,  as 

St.  Austin  calls  Him. 

3.  Because  love  is  akin  to  joy. 

4.  Because  the  seat  of  jubilation  is  in  the  will,  and 

He  proceeds  by  the  will. 

5.  His  procession  is  itself  the   endless,  everlasting, 

divinely  musical,  stately-gleaming,  unimaginable 
jubilation  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  within  itself, 
and  also  in  all  creations  lying  in  its  external 
omnipresence. 

VII.  He  is  the  fulness  of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

1.  His   not   producing   is    not    rightly    infecundity 

— no  infirmity;  nay,  it  is  His  very  personal 
eminence,  and  characteristic  perfection ;  for  all 
characteristics  of  the  Divine  Persons  are  per- 
fection. 

2.  He  is  fulness,  which  is  akin  to  joy. 

3.  He  is  fecund  with  the  high  fecundity  of  falling 

back  upon  the  Father  and. the  Son,  and,  as  it 
were,  completing  them,  and  bounding  the  bound- 
less Trinity. 

4.  He  is  the  crown  of  fecundity,  because  He  is  the 

jubilation  of  fecundity. 

5.  He   is  fecund,  because    He   has   drunk  in,  and 

possesses  in  Himself  all  the  power  of  the  God- 
head to  produce  by  will ;  He  holds  all  possible 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        55 

uncreated  love,  and  is  the  Ocean  of  the  Father's 

unbegotten  Fountain. 

Such  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  all  beautiful,  all  holy,  in 
His  unimaginable  Procession,  and  who  is  condescending 
at  this  moment  to  be  wrapping  us  all  round  with  His 
eternal  love,  longing  to  lead  us  willing  captives  to  the 
shores  of  His  jubilant  eternal  Sea ! 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  HOLY  GHOST  AND  CREATURES. 

THERE  was  a  time,  or  rather  there  was  a  timeless  eter- 
nity, when  God  was  all  in  all ;  no  space,  no  matter, 
no  created  spirit,  no  life  out  of  God :  no  place  where 
life  could  be,  no  conditions  under  which  life  was'  pos- 
sible :  creation  then  lay  a  complete  ideal  in  the  mind 
of  God,  in  the  clear  soft  light  of  His  decrees ;  a  pro- 
cession, but  not  an  eternal  one,  a  procession  which 
was  one  day  to  be.  The  date  came  when  time  should 
be  born,  a  certain  indiscernible  point  in  unsuccessive 
eternity,  and  then  creation  lay  outside  of  God,  though 
in  His  lap. 

I.  Creation  might  have  been  eternal. 

1.  The  possibility  of  this  throws  considerable  light 

on  the  life  of  God. 

2.  We  must  beware  of  thinking  that  the  Divine 

life  had  to  be  completed  before  Creation  could 
take  place ;  the  Generation  of  the  Son,  and  the 
Procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  always  going 
on,  posterior  to  Creation  as  well  as  prior  to  it. 


56  PART  L 

3.  The  eternity  of  Creation  is  possible. 

(1)  On  God's  side,  because  His  power  is  eternal, 
and  He  could  at  any  moment  have  created. 

(2)  On  the  side  of  creatures  themselves. 

1.  Because  creatures  never  began  to  be  possible: 

they  were  possible  from  eternity. 

2.  Though   not   capable  of   being  eternal   by 
essence,  creatures  may  be  eternal  by  parti- 
cipation. 

(3)  On  the  side   of  the  act   of  creation    itself, 
because — 

1.  The  action  of  God  is  instantaneous. 

2.  Such  an  action  on  His   part,  as  Creation, 

would  not  be  the  less  free,  because  it  was 
eternal. 

3.  Creation,  rightly  considered,  is  not  a  transi- 

tion from  non-being  to  being,  but  the  produc- 
tion of  a  whole  thing  from  no  presupposed 
subject. 

4.  Yet  even  if  it  were   but  such  a  transition, 

non-being  need  only  precede  the  creature  in 
nature  and  not  in  fact. 

4.  All  this  applies  more  easily  to  permanent  things. 

Billuart*  thinks  it  more  probably  would  not 
apply  to  successive  things;  still  even  this  is 
not  certain ;  for  our  ideas  are  so  welded  now 
to  things  as  they  are,  we  can  hardly  put 
ourselves  in  a  position  to  judge  of  such  a 
question. 

5.  God  doubtless  could  have  made  a  non-successive 

creation. 

6.  St.   Thomas   says   that   without    revelation    the 

*  De  Opere  Sex  Dierum.    Dissert.  I,  art.  vi. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        67 

temporal  nature  of  creation  is  credible,  but  not 
demonstrable. 
7.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  creation  is  temporal,  and 

that  it  is  so  is  defide. 
II.  Creation  lying  outside  of  God. 

1.  The  immeasurable  quantity  of  strange  inanimate 

matter. 

(1)  Of  various  composition  ; 

(2)  Of  magnificent  and  subtle  properties ; 

(3)  Of  extreme  beauty  and  variety  of  form ; 

(4)  Reducible   to    very    considerable    simplicity, 

perhaps  to  one  element — and  to  one  force ;  * 

(5)  Whose  inner  life  seems  unattainable ; 

(6)  And  is  a  life  of  continual  protean  change. 

(7)  Indestructible,  and  now  everlasting. 

(8)  It  is  as  it  is,  for  some  deep  reason  unknown 

to  us. 

(9)  Doubtless  bearing  on  itself  the  most  intimate 

transcript  of  His  perfections,  Who  made  it. 

2.  Life  is  an  especially  godlike  gift. 

(1)  To  be  organic  is  an  approach  to  life,  and  is  a 

state  doubtless  full  of  divine  wonders  beyond 
our  sciences. 

(2)  Life  requires  peculiar  and  subtle  conditions, 

and  varying  adaptations. 

(3)  It  is  also  inimitable  by  any  marvels  of  man. 

(4)  Countless  varieties  of  life  from  angels  down 

to  zoophytes :  and  all  have  feelings,  character 
and  consciousness  of  their  own. 

(5)  It  is  a  secret  into  whose  ultimate  recesses  it 

seems  as  if  we  could  never  penetrate. 

*See  Smee's  Monogenesis  of  Physical  Forces,  and  per  contra 
Faraday's  conservation  of  Forces. 


58  PARTI. 

(6)  Yet  life  is  always  a  happiness:    the  greatest 

of  treasures  which  most  creatures  have,  if 
not  all;  indeed  it  is  the  greatest,  for  a 
martyr  is  only  one  who  has  the  courage  to 
change  a  lower  life  for  a  higher. 

(7)  It  is  most  plainly   an  outpouring  of  God's 

goodness,  even  in  his  beatitude. 
3.  Double  life,  material  and  spiritual. 

(1)  Material  life. 

1.  Ever  changing. 

2.  The  greater  portion  of  it  simply  mortal. 

3.  Yet  capable  of  supernatural  operations,  in 

man  at  least,  which  immortalize  it. 

4.  Strange  unions  of  matter  and  spirit,  as  in 

sacraments,  and  certain  mental  conditions. 

5.  Glorified  life  of  matter,  without  any  violence 

done  to  nature. 

(2)  Spiritual  life. 

1.  Immortal,  but  not  intrinsically  so. 

2.  Its  extreme  simplicity   is   an  approach  to- 

wards God. 

3.  Its  changes — their  peculiarity,  as  in  angels 

when  they  fell. 

4.  Horror  of  spiritual  wickedness,  because   it 

is  seeming  to  come  into  such   immediate 
antagonism  to  God. 

5.  Immense  capabilities  of  glory  which  a  spirit 

has. 

(3)  All   this   creation  shaped  out  of  the  Divine 

mind. 

1.  God  was  never  an  uncreating  God. 

2.  No    change    passed    over    Him,    when    he 

realized  His  idea. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       59 

3.  Hence    no    incompleteness    or    overlooked 

minuteness  is  possible  in  creation. 

4.  It   was  the   work   of   all    God's   combined 

perfections. 

5.  The  product  therefore  quite  as  much  of  His 

love  as  of  His  wisdom  :  perhaps  more  so, 
inasmuch  as  His  uncreated  Love  was  the 
Person  next  to  creatures : 

6.  And,  as  we  shall  see,  creation  was  at  least 

let  loose  through  His  love ; 

7.  And  when  fallen,  brought  back  neither  by 

Wisdom  alone,  nor  by  Love  alone,  but  by 
both  together ;  and  in  the  case  of  the 
individual  soul  by  Love  as  inclusive  of 
Wisdom. 

4.  The  Divine  Concurrence  keeping  Creation  out  of 
nothingness. 

(1)  There  is  nothing  in  creation  to  which  God 

has  given  an  independent  existence. 

(2)  God  is,  as  it  were,  the  life  underlying,  sus- 

taining, and  rendering  possible  our  life. 

(3)  If  He  were  to  withdraw  His  concurrence  for 

one  moment,   it  would  all  fall   back   with 
hideous  relapse  into  nothingness. 

(4)  The  Divine  Presence  is  more  intimate  to  us 

than  even  the  principle  of  life. 

(5)  It  is  threefold — 

1.  By  Essence,  His  substance  embracing  and 

penetrating  all  the  extremities  of  the 
world. 

2.  By    presence,    eyes,    knowledge,    light,    no 

darkness. 

3.  By  Power,  the  activity  and  vigor  of  all 


60  PART  I. 

activities    and    vigors,    the     fountain    of 
forces. 

(6)  Conservation  is  the  same  act  as  Creation,  and 

indivisible  from  it. 

(7)  No  effort,  no  successive  attentions,  on  God's 

part,  necessary  to  this  calm  concurrence. 

5.  His  own  glory  is  the  end  of  all  creation,  and  of 

all  possible  creations. 

(1)  God's  essential  glory  is  untouched  by  crea- 

tion— which  leaves  no  mark  on  it. 

(2)  He  is  necessitated  by  His  perfections  to  seek 

His  own   glory  in  all  things:    self-love  is 
divine  holiness. 

(3)  We  are  left  free  to  fulfil  this  glory — 

1.  Either  by  making  our   happiness  identical 

with  it, 

2.  Or  by  magnifying  His  perfections   through 

the  ill-success  of  our  opposition  to  them. 

(4)  But  we  are  necessitated  to  fulfil  it  in  one  of 

these  two  ways. 

(5)  Hence  there  is  no   neutrality    possible    for 

creatures,  with  regard  to  God. 

6.  Yet  creation  is  wholly  un mingled  with  God. 

(1)  Impossibility  of  any  such  mixture. 

1.  On  the  side  of  God,  because  of  His  com- 

pleteness,   perfection,    and   unity   of   sub- 
stance. 

2.  On    the    side    of   creation,   because   of   its 

composition,  derivation,  and  essential  de- 
pendence. 

(2)  Concurrence,    even   with   evil    actions,   is  a 

wonderful  display  of  the  agency  of  God's 
purity. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        61 

(3)  Yet  extreme   awfulness  of  sin,  of  which  the 
Divine  Concurrence  gives  such  a  stupendous 
view. 
III.  Creation  lying  outside,  yet  in  the  embrace  of  God. 

1.  What  is  meant  by  nature. 

(1)  That  which  is  due  to  the  shape  and  capacity 

of  a  thing  as  God  designed  it. 

(2)  That  which  is  not  out  of  the  reach  of  its 

acquisition. 

(3)  That  which  is  congenial  to  it,  and  can  blend 

with  it,  without  the  infusion  of  any  super- 
natural  principle,  i.e.  with  the  common  con- 
currence of  God. 

2.  Natural  unions  with  God. 

(1)  The  union  of  origin,  conservation,  and   last 

end,  with  the  Divine  Essence. 

(2)  The  union  of  dependence,  filial  humility,  and 

accountableness,  which  seems  to  draw  us  to 
the  Father. 

(3)  The  union  of  the  light  of  reason  with  the  light 

of  the  Word,  which  joins  us  to  the  Son. 

(4)  The  union  of  will  and  love  of  God,  simply  as 

the  Author  of  nature,  which  joins  us  to  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

3.  The  order  of  grace. 

(1)  Sanctifying  grace  a  participation  of  the  Divine 

nature — a  quality  of  the  soul  or  habit. 

(2)  Actual  grace  an  impulse  of  the  Divine  Will : 

varieties  and  powers  of  it. 

(3)  Nature  cannot  merit  the  first  grace,  nor  can 

the  last  grace  be  merited  :  so  that  the  world 
of  grace  floats  separately,  as  it  were,  from  the 
world  of  nature. 


62  PART  I. 

4.  Creation  was  in  a  state  of  grace,  to  angels  and 

men,  who  alone  were  capable  of  grace. 

(1)  Unnecessary  love  of  this. 

(2)  It  was  so  both  to  angels  and  men. 

(3)  So  that  reasonable  nature  was  never  tried  by 

its  sole  self:  both  trials  were  of  creatures  in 
a  state  of  grace. 

(4)  This  shows  the    closeness   of   the   Creator's 

embrace  of  creation. 

(5)  And  that  we,  by  sin,  did  no  less  than  struggle 

out  of  His  arms. 

5.  Unions  of  grace. 

(1)  A  higher  knowledge  of  God. 

(2)  Virtues,  not  only  more  heroic  in  degree,  but 

different  in  kind. 

(3)  The  union  of  merit,  through  a  supernatural 

principle. 

(4)  The  substantial  indwelling  of  God  far  beyond 

concurrence. 

(5)  The  Father  more  our  Father  because  we  have 
a  supernatural  real  worship. 

(6)  Greater  union  with  the  Son  is  the  fountain  of 

grace. 

(7)  Our  wills   capable  of  closer  union  with   the 

Holy  Ghost. 

(8)  The  ultimate  union  of  seeking  and  enjoying 

God  for  ever. 

6.  The  Incarnation  of  the  Second  Person. 

(1)  The  Creator  still  more  closely  embracing  His 

creation. 

(2)  Yet  it  was  in -the  original  idea  of  creation: 
nay,  the  fontal  idea  of  it  all. 

(3)  The  propriety  of  the  Second   Person   being 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        63 

incarnate,  because  of  the  connection  between 
the  Word  and  creatures. 

(4)  The  Incarnation  was  efficient  by  anticipation, 

both  for  angels  and  men. 

(5)  Yet  that  previous  efficacy,  at  least  so  far  as 

men  are  concerned,  is  not  to  be  compared 
with  the  change  it  has  now  actually  wrought 
on  the  earth ;  witness  the  unopeniug  of 
Limbus. 

7.  Unions  because  of  the  Incarnation. 

(1)  Sacramental  Unions. 

(2)  The  unions  of  grace  are  now  more  lofty  and 

more  entire. 

(3)  Mystical  unions  and  likeness  to  Jesus. 

(4)  Unions  since  the  Incarnation  differ — 

1.  In  kind.      (1.)   New  Mission.     (2.)    Sacra- 

ments.    (3.)  Other  uses  of  matter. 

2.  In  degree:  constantly  approaching,  and  at 

last  emanating  in  transformation. 

3.  In  method.     (1.)    Sacred  Humanity.      (2.) 

Imitation  of  Jesus.     (3.)  Christian  Voca- 
tions. 

(5)  Union  is  the  special  work  of  the  Incarnation, 

itself  the  greatest  of  all  created  unions. 

8.  The  indwelling  of  the  Third  Person. 

(1)  Its  substantial  reality 

(2)  By  sanctifying  grace. 

(3)  By   His  gifts.     Vasquez    says,    non    ratione 

augmenti  habitus  gratice,  sed  ratione  alio- 
rum  donorum. 

(4)  By  His  impulses,  pleadings  and  inspirations. 

(5)  By  His  plenary  presence  in  the  Church,  which 
is  our  enclosure. 


64  PART  I. 

9.  Unions  through  Him. 

(1)  The  processes  of  justification  and  sanctifica- 

tion  the  same  before  Christ  as  after,  so  far  as 
they  are  interior. 

(2)  Yet  in  some  sense  the  Holy  Ghost  was  not 

given  until  redemption  was  actually  accom- 
plished. He  follows  the  Word  in  the  order 
of  our  salvation,  as  in  the  order  of  the 
Trinity. 

(3)  All  unions  with  Jesus  are  completed  in  Him, 

and  by  Him. 

(4)  His  own    extraordinary   intimacy   with    the 

saints. 

(5)  Even  within  our  souls  His  posture  is  the  same 

as  it  is  in  the  divine  life,  a  peculiar  unitive 
relation  to  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

10.  The  order  of  glory. 

(1)  Glory  in  reality  is  not  an  order  distinct  from 

grace,  only  a  time  and  place  and  fixed 
ultimate  condition  of  it. 

(2)  Free  will    threading    its    way   through  the 

superincumbent  weight  of  spiritual  helps 
and  appliances. 

(3)  In  the  actual  order  of  Providence  nature  has 

no  end,  no  natural  end  ;  we  cannot  see  what 
reasonable  nature  is  to  end  in  ;  it  has  to  rise 
out  of  itself  into  a  supernatural  end. 

(4)  Thus  glory  becomes  the  normal  state  of  nature 

at  the  last. 

(5)  The  creature  is  meant  to  look  the  Creator  in 

the  face — this  is  its  glory. 

11.  It  is  then  we  have  the  person  of  the  Eternal 

Father. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        65 

(1)  Words  of  the  Apostle  St.  Philip :  Lord !  show 

us  the  Father,  and  it  is  enough. 

(2)  We  must  become  likenesses  of  Christ,  and  we 

shall  be  so  after  the  resurrection,  and  only 
then  shall  we  be  satisfied,  and  our  satisfac- 
tion will  be  in  being  with  the  Father. 

(3)  The  Father  is  to   be  all   in   all,  when  the 

mediatorial  kingdom  of  Christ  comes  to  an 
end. 
12.  We  shall  indeed  possess  the  whole  Trinity. 

(1)  The  Three  Divine  Persons  will  belong  to  us 

as  an  enjoyed  possession. 

(2)  We   shall  dwell   with   Them   for  evermore, 

intuitively  beholding  Them  as  They  are. 

(3)  Creation  rose  out  of  the  Incarnation,  and  by 

the  Incarnation  the  wandering  creation  is 
brought  home  to  the  Creator. 
IV.  The  Threshold  of  the  Uncreated. 

1.  The  freedom  of  all  divine  acts   outside   God — 

importance   of  this  truth,   that   Creation   was 
free. 

2.  The  oneness  of  action  in  all  that  the  Three  Divine 

Persons  work  outwardly. 

3.  The  doctrine  of  Mission,  Visible  and  Invisible. 

(1)  Temporal,  yet  representing  the  processions  in 

the  Holy  Trinity :  the  world  of  grace  mirror- 
ing the  Holy  Trinity,  momentarily  and  per- 
petually, as  does  the  world  of  matter,  though 
less  intelligibly.* 

(2)  Mission  threefold  in  the  individual  soul. 
1.  First  Justification. 

*See  "Creator  and  Creature,"  p.  170.    "Blessed  Sacrament," 
p.  277,  &c. 

Vol.  I.  E 


66  PART  I. 

2.  Each  augmentation  of  grace. 

3.  Eternal  beatitude. 

(3)  It  is  to  produce  an  end,  and  its  end  is  that  a 

Divine  Person  should  begin  to  exist  in  us  in 
a  new  manner,  as  in  a  temple,  and  that  the 
soul  thereby  may  possess  or  enjoy  God  in  a 
new  manner — so  that  Mission  touches  on 
heaven,  touches  on  the  Beatific  Vision. 

(4)  Imperfect  Missions. 

1.  Reason's  knowledge  and  love  of  God,  which 

is  not  a  fresh  possession  and  enjoyment  of 
Him. 

2.  Actual  graces,  which  are  rather  a  knocking 

at  the  door  than  an  indwelling. 

3.  Infallibility  of  the  Pope  is  rather  a  moving 

of  the  intellect. 

(5)  The  Father  is  not  sent,  and  the  Son  is  sent 

only  by  the  Father. 

(6)  The  Son  and  the  Spirit  are  not  sent  separately. 

(7)  But  mission  is  attributed  to  each  separately 

by  appropriation. 

(8)  The  unsent  Father  is  always  present  in  invisi- 

ble Missions. 

(9)  The  reality  of  Mission — the  Persons  substan- 

tially present. 

(10)  Horror  of  heresy  as  impeding  Mission :  it  is 
like  an  imprisoning  of  God's  mercy  within 
Himself,  and  restricting  His  liberty  in  His 
own  Creation. 

4.  All  creation  is  stamped  with  the  likeness  of  the 

Uncreated,  probably  far  beyond  our  powers  of 
perception, 

5.  And  this  is  a  Trinitarian  likeness. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       67 

6.  Yet  perhaps  each  Person  has  some  relation  of 

His  own  to  creatures,  though  inexpressible,  just 
as  relations  constitute  the  Persons  in  God. 

7.  If  we  begin  with  the  Father,  we  travel  down  to 

the  Holy  Ghost,  and  rest  in  Him  as  the  Thres- 
hold of  the  Created. 

8.  If  we  start  with  matter  and  zoophytes,  and  travel 

up  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  rest  in  him  as  the 
Threshold  of  the  Uncreated.* 

9.  How  we  get  the  right  view  of  Him  with  regard 

to  creatures :  there  is  nothing  between  the  created 
and  the  Uncreated ;  the  Uncreated  Spirit  con- 
fines on  creation,  creation  confines  on  Him. 
10.  Thus  the  shadow  of.  the  Uncreated  on  the 
created  doubles  back  like  the  shadows  in  a 
mountain  lake:  the  first  choir  of  angels,  the 
Seraphim,  representing  the  near  Term  of  the 
Godhead,  the  Holy  Ghost ;  the  second  choir, 
the  Cherubim,  the  Word  and  Wisdom  of  the 
Father,  which  is  the  Son  ;  and  the  Thrones  in 
their  kingly  peace  and  stability,  the  Person  of 
the  Father.  This  explains  why  devotion  to 
the  Eternal  Father  and  devotion  to  the  choir 
of  Thrones  co-exist  by  a  kind  of  instinct  in  so 
many  saints  and  others,  who  were  probably 
not  conscious  of  the  reason.  Yet  the  personal 
angels,  who  stood  alone,  follow  the  personal 
order  in  the  Blessed  Trinity :  Michael  the 
angel  of  the  Father,  Gabriel  of  the  Son,  Raphael, 
with  his  characteristic  mixture  of  pathos  and 
joy,  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

*Holy  Ghost  nearest  to  creatures — Henricus  de  Balbis  in  Thomas 
of  Jesus.    De  Orat.  Div.  lib.  iv.  cap.  ix.  p.  388-90,  8vo.  ed. 


68  PART  I. 

V.  The  Holy  Ghost  the  end  of  creatures. 

1.  Creatures  come  down  to  the  brink  of  His  sweet- 

watered  sea  and  pass  in. 

2.  The  powers  and  affections  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of 

Jesus  to  return  into  Him. 

3.  The  immaculate  heart  of  Mary,  with  the  holi- 

ness of  Joseph,  the  Baptist,  the  Apostles,  and 
the  hierarchy  of  the  Incarnation,  pass  into 
Him. 

4.  The   love   of  the  Seraphim,   the  science   of  the 

Cherubim,  the  peace  of  the  Thrones,  the  empire 
of  the  Dominations,  the  energy  of  the  Virtues, 
the  force  of  the  Powers,  the  dignity  of  the 
Principalities,  the  defence  of  the  Archangels, 
the  charity  of  the  Angels,  all  pass  into  Him. 

5.  So  do  all  hearts  of  men  that  are  grace-touched 

and  virtue-loving. 

6.  To  flow  down  into  Him  is  the  beautifulness  of 

life. 

7.  Yet  we  are  not  lost  in  Him,  but  find  there  the 

eternal  distinctness  of  eternal  life. 

VI.  The  History  of  the  Holy  Ghos-t. 

1.  Eternally  proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the 

Son,  which  He  is  doing  while  we  are  speaking. 

2.  Joining  in  the  predestination  of  Jesus  and  Mary. 

3.  Brooding  over  Creation. 

4.  Immense  nameless  communications   of  grace  to 

the  Angels,  through  the  Seraphim  His  own 
choir :  some  think  all  the  three  first  choirs 
receive  light  immediately,  not  mediately. 

5.  Intense  love  of  the  Sacred  Humanity  of  Jesus. 

6.  Inspiring  patriarchs  with  desires  and  prayers  to 

hasten  His  coming. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        69 

7.  The  poet  of  the  prophecies  describing  the  life  and 

passion  of  Jesus  beforehand. 

8.  In  the  heart  of  David  dictating  the  psalms. 

9.  Sanctifying  Mary,   David's   daughter,   and   His 

own  spouse. 

10.  Preparing,  creating,  or  fashioning  the  Body  of 

Jesus,  by  overshadowing  Mary. 

11.  His  share  in  the  Magnificat. 

12.  Sanctifying  St.  Joseph.  * 

13.  Given  immeasurably  to  Jesus. 

14.  Descending  at  the  Baptism  of  Jesus 

15.  Driving    Him    into    the  wilderness,    and    then 

commissioning  Him  to  preach. 

16.  His  love  of  the  apostles. 

17.  His  passing  with  the  breath  of  Christ  into  them, 

which  was  an  adumbration  of  His  eternal  Pro- 
cession by  spiration. 

18.  Meeting  Jesus  in  the  Ascension  Cloud. 

19.  Descent  on  Mary  and  the  Apostles  at  Pente- 

cost.f 

20.  Dwelling  in  and  building  up  the  Infant  Church, 

almost  visible,  so  manifest  was  His  agency.  J 

21.  Punishing  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  visible  sample 

*The  Holy  Ghost  was  Himself  the  conjugal  love  of  Joseph  and 
Mary,  and  so  the  Bond  of  the  Earthly  Trinity  as  of  the  Heavenly. 
Raffaello  Maria  Vita  di  S.  Giuseppe,  p.  48,  v.  Bethlehem,  p.  433. 

f  Giry  says  it  was  revealed  that  the  Holy  Ghost  rested  on  Mary 
in  one  flame,  and  thence  separated  off  into  tongues.  Vies  des  Saints, 
vol.  i,  p.  145. 

J  For  the  Holy  Ghost  after  Pentecost  compared  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  before,  see  Thomas  of  Jesus,  De  Orat.  Div.  lib.  iv.  cap.  viii. 

Visible  descents  were  frequent  in  the  primitive  church,  because 
the  sins  of  Christians  had  not  interposed  obstacles  between  them 
and  the  effusions  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Mistica  6iudad,  Lib.  vii. 
cap.  ziii.  No.  226. 


70  PART  I. 

of  many  like  invincible  providences,  or  at  least 
indiscernible  interferences,  so  suitable  to  our 
Lord's  words  about  the  sin  against  Him. 

22.  Welcoming  Mary  His  Spouse  at  her  Assumption, 

and  joining  in  her  Coronation. 

23.  Inspiring  the  epistles. 

24.  Giving  St.  John  the  Apocalypse. 

25.  Acting  in  the  Church  now  as  executor  of  Jesus, 

tutor  of  the  Saints,  and  teacher  of  Mary  His 

Spouse.  * 

Such  is  a  sketch  of  God's  huge  creation,  and  the 
action  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  it,  and  His  position  with 
reference  to  it.  It  is  equally  peculiar  with  His  place  in 
the  Divine  Life  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE  HOLY  GHOST  AND  JESUS. 

As  creation  sprang  out  of  the  Incarnation,  and  the 
Incarnation  embraces  and  is  the  reason  of  creation, 
the  relation  between  the  Holy  Ghost  and  creation 
leads  necessarily  to  his  relation  with  Jesus:  it  is  in 
Their  mutual  relation  to  creation  that  we  must  now 
bring  them  together. 
I.  The  History  of  Creation. 

1.  The  Predestination  of  Jesus. 

(1)  Eternal  in  the  Divine  Mind. 

*For  the  story  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  electing  the  Archbishops  of 
Ravenna,  beautifully  told,  see  Tut'o,  Hist,  de  Teatini,  cap.  88,  p. 355. 

For  office  of  Holy  Ghost  in  Purgatory,  v.  Finetti  sopra  il  Pur- 
gatorio,  cap.  28. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        71 

(2)  It  was  for  the  same  reason  as  we  may  suppose 

creation  at  all,  viz.,  love:  only  it  was  the 
cause  of  the  rest  of  creation,  the  nucleus 
round  which  creation  gathered. 

(3)  It  was  the  first  externation  of  the  goodness 

of  God. 

2.  The  Date  of  Creation. 

(1)  It  took  place  at  a  fixed  and  foreordained 

time. 

(2)  A  moment  which  had  a  vast  reasonableness, 

unrevealed,  and  beyond  our  powers  of  dis- 
covery. 

(3)  We  may  be  sure  it  had  to  do  with  the  predes- 

tination of  Jesus. 

3.  The  Angels. 

(1)  The  eldest-born  of  God's  creatures. 

(2)  Of  a  different  nature  from  that  which  was 

predestined  for  the  Word. 

(3)  All  their  graces  were  from  Him,  and  because 

of  Him  Incarnate,  though  not  in  the  shape 
of  redemption. 

4.  The  Creation  of  matter. 

(1)  Original   matter  out  of  nothing:  one  atom 

could  fill  the  universe.* 

(2)  Gradual  cosmogony  was  perhaps  meant  as  a 

visible  Bible  to  the  angels,  full  of  types  and 
prophecies  of  Jesus,  and  loud  hymns  of  ma- 
terial forces  which  their  intelligence  could 
translate. 

(3)  Perhaps  the  angels  took  part  in  the  cosmogony ; 

certainly  in  the  custody  and  administration 
of  the  finished  world. 

*  Smee's  Monogenesis. 


72  PART  I. 

5.  The  Trial  of  the  Angels. 

(1)  I  am  inclined  to  place  this  after  the  creation 

of  matter,  at  least  of  primary  matter ;  else 
their  trial  would  be  less  significant,  regarding 
the  material  nature  of  Jesus. 

(2)  The  presentation  of  Jesus  to  their  intellects 

and  wills,  the  Word  clad  in  an  inferior 
nature,  to  be  so  worshipped. 

(3)  Ample  grace  was  given,  yet  one-third  fell,  and 

fell  irrevocably. 

6.  The  epochs  of  the  material  world. 

(1)  Science  would  lead  us  to  infer  that  they  have 

been  of  enormous  duration. 
The  glory  of  God  in  the  evolutions  of  matter, 
inorganic,  organic,  and   animated  —  in   the 
lawfulness  of  uniformity,  or  the   restrained 
and  balanced  fury  of  catastrophes. 

(3)  Glory  to  Him  from  the  activity  and  contem- 
plation of  the  angels ;  for  though  the  idea  of 
the  predestinated  Jesus  was  not  yet  fulfilled, 
their  interest  in  the  material  world  centred 
round  Him  as  their  Incarnate  King;  it  brought 
them  into  an  affectionate  relation  with  matter. 

7.  Preparation  for  Jesus. 

(1)  Sin  changes  His  manner  of  coming. 

(2)  All  history  of  patriarchs  and  Jews  a  prepara- 

tion for  Him. 

(3)  Pagan  history,  with  its  outworn  and  outwear- 

ing mythologies  and  philosophies,  partially 
a  preparation,  but  also  a  working  out  of  the 
proposition  of  His  necessity,  from  the  ram- 
pant growth  of  all  corruption,  and  the  tyranny 
of  decadence  in  all  its  shapes. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        73 

8.  He  comes. 

(1)  Mary's  Immaculate  Conception,  and   fifteen 

years. 

(2)  The  Thirty-three  Years,  with  all  their  myste- 

ries, living  on  still  as  it  were  in  the  hearts 
of  men. 

(3)  The  Passion-death  the  only  terms  of  redemp- 

tion with  the  Father. 

9.  The  Church. 

(1)  This  is  the  living  and  real  continuation  of  the 

Incarnation. 

(2)  The  earthly  dwelling  of  Jesus  in  the  Blessed 

Sacrament  till  the  day  of  doom. 

(3)  The  Church  is  as  it  were  a  part  of  heaven  in 

exile  upon  earth. 
10.  The  place  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  Church. 

(1)  To  carry  on  the  work  of  Jesus: — in   pope, 

theology,  sacraments,  priesthoods — the  Holy 
Oils  are  breathed  into  in  order  to  consecrate 
them. 

(2)  To  fill  it  with  the  precise  spirit  of  Jesus,  and 

to  fill  it  abundantly :  this  spirit  of  Jesus  is 
the  practical  exorcism  of  the  world  and  its 
spirit  from  the  Church. 

(3)  It  is  a  sort  of  Palestine  to  Him,  the  sphere  of 

His  activity,  His  dispensation,  so  to  speak. 
II.  The  devotion  of  Jesus  to  the  Holy  Ghost. 

1.  He  begins  teaching  Nicodemus  about  Him,  and 

in  connection  with  the  special  Christian  gift  of 
regeneration. 

2.  He  establishes  His  apostolate  by  the  imparting  of 

the  Holy  Ghost. 

3.  He  declares  sin  against  Him  to  be  unlike  sin 


74  PART  I. 

against  Himself,  and  some  sin  unpardonable,  as 
if  by  the  terror  of  this  to  defend  His  affectionate 
familiarities  from  profane  liberties. 

4.  He  knew  the  beau  tifuln ess  of  His   own  visible 

presence,  yet  said  it  was  expedient  He  should 
go  away,  in  order  that  the  Holy  Ghost  should 
come ;  so  Jesus  seems  in  a  certain  sense  to  aban- 
don the  field  to  Him. 

5.  He  left  His  own  work  incomplete,  for  the  Holy 

Ghost  to  finish ;  He  did  little  more  than  make 
a  beginning,  so  far  as  His  ministry  went. 

6.  He  made  the  office  of  the  Holy  Ghost  one  of  love 

to  Himself — to  bring  to  mind  all  that  He  (Jesus) 
had  said. 

7.  He  let  Himself  be  immensely  sanctified  by  Him. 

8.  He  possessed  Him  without  measure. 

III.  The  devotion  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  Jesus. 

1.  His  Conception,  which  is  especially  appropriated 

to  the  Holy  Ghost* 

2.  This  devotion  disclosed  at  our  Lord's  baptism  and 

transfiguration. 

3.  His  munificence  to  the  Mother  of  Jesus. 

4.  No  one  can  profess  our  Lord's  divinity  but  by  the 

Holy  Spirit,  f 

5.  He  defends   His   Person,  Natures,  Sacramental 

Presence,  and  Mother  from  heresies  in  all  ages. 

6.  He  steps  in  in  confirmation  to  strengthen   the 

wavering  loyalty  of  Christ's  soldiers. 

7.  In  ordination  He,  as  it  were,  multiplies  the  sphere 

of  Jesus,  as  Jesus  by  the  Incarnation  had  already 
enlarged  the  sphere  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

8.  His  way  of  leading  the  apostles  into  all  truth 

*  Billuart,  v.  340.  f  1  Cor.  xii.  3. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       75 

was  by  bringing  to  their  minds  all  the  words 
•      of  Jesus. 
9.  The  saints,  who  are  the  handiwork  of  the  Holy 

Ghost,  are  but  multiplied  likenesses  of  Jesus. 

IV.  The  Holy  Ghost  and  Mary. 

1.  Mary  is  inextricably  bound  up  with  Jesus,  from 

His  predestination  downwards. 

2.  She  stood  in  separate   relations  to  each  of  the 

Three  Divine  Persons. 

3.  Her  relation  to  the   Holy   Ghost   was   that  of 

Spouse  :  what  does  that  imply  ? 

(1)  That  as  He  was  the  term  of  God,  the  Incar- 

nation took  place  through  His  overshadowing 
Mary. 

(2)  That  He  fashioned  the  Sacred  Humanity  of 

Jesus. 

(3)  That  He  did  this  with  her  consent. 

4.  He  overshadowed  her  at  the  incarnation  as  it 

were  to  shield  her,  and  keep  her  alive  in  that 
mystery,  just  as  she  was  miraculously  kept  alive 
beneath  the  Cross. 

5.  Her  different  sanctifications  were  great  indescrib- 

able operations  of  His. 

6.  His  descent  on  her  at  Pentecost,  as  if  more  with 

her  now  that  she  was  childless; 

7.  As  Spouse,  she  rightfully  occupied  His  position 

in  the  earthly  Trinity. 

V.  The  Holy  Ghost  and  the  Incarnation. 

1.  His  connection  with  the  Sacred  Humanity,  both 
Soul  and  Body :  Jesus,  being  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  returned  from  the  Jordan,  and  was  led 
(driven  out,  Mark  i.  12)  by  the  Spirit  into  the 
desert.  Luke  iv.  1. 


76  PART  I. 

2.  It  seemed  as  if  the  Incarnation,  as  it  were,  let 

Him  loose,  and  gave  Him  space. 

3.  This  would  be  a  personal  reason  for  His  having 

so  much  to  do  with  the  preliminaries  and  pre- 
parations of  it. 

4.  Pentecost  was  His  advent,  as  it  were,  with  His 

new  Mary;    and  the  apostles   were   almost  as 
much  His  as  they  were  our  Lord's.* 

5.  He  has  the  same  end  as  Jesus,  the  exaltation 

of  the  Father:    for  He  is  the  Spirit  of  adop- 
tion, by  whom  we  cry  Abba,  Father;  just  as 
the  Father  sent  Him  in   the  Name  of  Jesus. 
John  xiv.  26. 
VI.  The  Holy  Trinity. 

1.  All  these  things  were  done  in  the  utmost  unity 

by  the  Holy  Ghost  and  by  Jesus. 

2.  The  Sacred  Humanity  belonging,  and  infinitely 

dear,  to  all  the  Three  Persons. 

3.  The  Holy  Trinity  absolutely  One   in   its  action 

in  all  these  things ; 

4.  Yet    variously    representing    its  distinctness  of 

Persons. 

5.  Nevertheless  those    representations  are   but  ap- 

propriations. 

6.  In  Mission  now   One  comes   forward,  now   An- 

other:   One  manifests    Himself  in   the  effect, 
visible  or  invisible,  where  all  are  really  present. 

7.  Yet  by  far  the  greatest   amount   of  Mission  is 

appropriated  to  the  Holy  Ghost. 

*  The  operations  in  the  "  fond  de  1'aine  "  in  high  mystical  states 
are  a  miraculous  union  of  the  Holy  Ghost  parallel  to  what  the 
Second  Person  docs  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament. — Barbancon,  Secrets 
Sentiers,  chap.  13,  p.  325. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        77 

8.  The  Father  is  not  sent,  but  present,  and  operat- 

ing concomitantly  with  the  others. 

9.  Impossibility  of  our  clearly  understanding  this: 

but  so  it  is  in  all  discourses  of  the  life  and  action 
of  God,  whose  unimaginable  simplicity  falsifies 
every  word  we  say. 

VII.  On  what  we  may  reverently  conceive  the  devotion 
of  Jesus  to  the  Holy  Ghost  was  based. 

1.  On  His  love,  as  a  Divine  Person  Himself,  for 

the  person  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

2.  On  the  worship  which  in  His  Human  Nature  He 

paid  to  the  Holy  Ghost. 

3.  On    gratitude,    as    it    were,    for     His     Sacred 

Humanity  being  specially  fashioned  by  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

4.  On  His  immense  love  of  holiness,  and  delight  in 

the  operations  of  grace. 

5.  On   His  love   of   Him    as    the   Spouse  of   His 

Mother. 

6.  On  His  choice  of  Him  as  His  successor  in  the 

Church. 

7.  On  the  peculiar  sympathy  between  His  Human 

Nature   and  the   Divine  Nature  of  the  Holy 

Ghost. 

(1)  Because  of  the  Love  of  His  Human  Nature 
for  the  Holy  Ghost  in  consequence  of  its 
exceeding  Holiness,  which  was  the  work 
of  that  Divine  Person,  and  an  unparalleled 
communication  of  the  Divine  Nature  by 
sanctifying  grace  to  a  created  Nature,  simi- 
lar to  that  in  some  measure  which  His 
own  Divine  Person  communicated  to  His 
assumed  Nature. 


78  PART  L 

(2)  Because  of  the  substantial  indwelling  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  His  Human  Nature  by 
Mission,  the  most  magnificent  of  all  His 
Missions :  so  that  He  dwelt  in  Jesus  eternally 
by  the  beautiful  mystery  of  Circuminsession, 
and  temporarily  by  Mission. 

Love  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  therefore  a  prominent 
feature  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus.  Unless  we  also  have 
a  very  special  love  for  Him,  we  are  not  yet  thoroughly 
penetrated  with  the  spirit  of  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  HOLY  GHOST  AND  THE  SOUL. 

THE  multitudes  of  souls  which  there  are  in  the  world 
— their  variety  and  varying  circumstances :  there  is 
not  one  with  whom  the  Holy  Ghost  has  not  had  most 
numerous,  complicated,  and  persevering  relations,  if 
they  have  come  to  man's  estate. 
I.  His  names  are  illustrations  of  His  work  in  the 

individual  soul. 
1.  Spirit. 

(1)  This  represents  the  method  of  His  uncreated 

origin. 

(2)  It  also  expresses  His  office  in  the  soul. 

(3)  He  is  in  the  soul  the  initiative,  representative, 

and  ally  of  all  immaterial  interests. 

(4)  The  hiddenness  of  His  work  is   in   fact  an 

excellence  of  its  spirituality. 

(5)  His  method  of  operations  is  peculiarly  subtle, 

delicate,  and  spiritual. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       79 

2.  Love. 

(1)  He  is  Himself  an  uncreated  Love; 

(2)  And  also  the  fountain  of  all  holy  created  love. 

(3)  He  is  wedded  indissolubly  to  a  state  of  grace, 

which  is  a  state  of  love. 

(4)  He  never  comes  to  us  without  augmenting  our 

love,  and  our  love  is  never  augmenting  with- 
out His  coming  to  us  substantially. 

(5)  He  breeds  in  us  especially  a  love  of  Jesus. 

3.  Paraclete. 

(1)  This  is  expressive  of  the  tenderness  of  His 

office  towards  us :  St.  Athanasius  notes  that 
the  word  does  not  occur  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

(2)  Comforter,    inwardly    comforting     us — espe- 

cially— 

1.  In  the  uncertainty   of   our  salvation  :   the 

wonder  that  this  is  bearable :  He  makes  it  so. 

2.  In  temptation  :  we  occasionally  see  how  pow- 
erless we  are  of  ourselves. 

3.  In  exile  from  God,  continued  for  so  many 

years  of  mortal  life. 

(3)  Advocate,*  which  is  comforting  us  outwardly, 

by  getting  us  aid :  mystery  of  a  Divine  Person 
being  called  an  Advocate. 

(4)  Both  these  offices  flow  from  His  love. 

(5)  The  last  is  the  same  office  as  that  of  the  Sacred 

Humanity  and  the  Five  Wounds  in  heaven : 
only  the  wounds  are  silent,  the  Spirit  has 
unutterable  plaints. 

4.  Gift. 

(1)  All  good  gifts  are  from  Him  ; 

*  Corn,  a  Lapide  in  Rom.  viii.  26. 


80  PART  L 

(2)  Yet  all  from  the  Father. 

(3)  Because  He  is  Himself  the  gift  of  the  Father 

and  the  Son. 

(4)  He  also  gives  Himself. 

(5)  And  with  Himself  gives  Them. 

II.  His  most  ordinary  operations  in  the  soul  are  those 

of  grace. 

1.  Sanctifying  grace  is  the  foundation  of  everything; 

and  -it  is  His  Mission. 

2.  His  indwelling  in  the  soul  substantially  by  grace. 

3.  By  each  augmentation  of  grace  He  dwells  there 

in  a  different  manner  from  what  He  ever  did 
before. 

4.  Then  there  are  the  inward  pleadings  and  struggles 

of  actual  grace. 

5.  So  that  one  while  He  looks  like  natural  conscience, 

another  while  like  Guardian  Angel. 

6.  His  share  in  the  sacraments :  ordination — conse- 

cration— illapsus. 

7.  What  we  call  the  interior  life  is  the  life  we  lead 

with  Him  in  our  souls. 

III.  His  gifts,  which  are  still  higher  operations. 

1.  He  has  some  very  special  gifts,  seven  in  number, 

with  which  he  works  in  souls :  they  are  marvel- 
lous tools,  undreamed  possibilities  of  grandeur 
of  soul,  unsurpassed  forms  of  beauty,  working 
miracles  with  our  natures  without  doing  violence 
to  them ;  by  them  we  touch,  and  taste,  and  relish, 
what  we  know  by  faith. 

2.  They  are  infused  habits,  enabling  us  to  graceful 

promptitude  in  the  service  of  God,  on  which 
His  actual  impulses  play  as  on  sweet-voiced 
keys  of  music:  the  divine  germs  of  all  real 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        81 

human  heroicity,  foundation  of  all  high  prin- 
ciples, mine  of  all  supernatural  instincts,  freeing 
us  from  the  slavery  of  creatures,  and  giving  us 
liberty.  Isaias  arranges  them  in  their  mutual 
connections  and  attractions.*  They  also  have 
occult  connections  with  the  fruits  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  our  Lord's  Beatitudes. 

3.  Wisdom — to  see   the  causes   and   fitnesses,   and 

taste  the  savor,  of  divine  things :  the  fruit  and 
beatitude — 

(1)  Fruit :— Faith. 

(2)  Beatitude.    Blessed  are  the  peacemakers :  for 

they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  God. 

4.  Understanding — to  penetrate  more  intimately  into 

the  truths  of  faith  :  how  much  is  supernatural 
in  the  operations  of  a  Christian  intellect ! 

(1)  Fruit:— Faith. 

(2)  Beatitude.     Blessed  are  the  clean  of  heart: 

for  they  shall  see  God. 

5.  Science — to  judge  correctly  of  human  things,  ac- 

cording to  God's  view  and  the  principles  of  grace. 

(1)  Fruit :— Faith. 

(2)  Beatitude.      Blessed   are   they  that   mourn: 

for  they  shall  be  comforted. 

6.  Counsel — to  direct  the   actions  of  faith :    grace 

for  details,  is  my  own  view  of  it. 

(1)  Fruit 

A.  Some  say  none,  because  its  own  operation 
is  its  fruit. 

B.  On  my  view,  goodness. 

(2)  Beatitude.      Blessed    are  the   merciful :    for 

they  shall  obtain  mercy. 

*Lallement  (English  Edition),  pp.  142,  143. 
Vol.  I.  F 


82  PART  I. 

1.  Piety — softness  to   God   and   to   others;    giving 
right  instincts. 

(1)  Fruit: — Benignity  and  joy. 

(2)  Beatitude.     Blessed  are  the   meek :   for  they 

shall  possess  the  land. 

8.  Fortitude — to  suffer,  to  dare,  and  to  persevere  in 

daring ;  also  to  protect  us  against  ourselves. 

(1)  Fruits : — Longanimity  and  patience. 

(2)  Beatitude.     Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and 

thirst  for  justice :  for  they  shall  have  their 
fill. 

9.  Fear — to  repress  our  pride  and  forwardness,  and 

to  give  us  the  gift  of  adoration :  in  the  edifice 
of  the  spiritual  life,  this  is  the  foundation. 

(1)  Fruits: — Modesty,  temperance,  and  chastity. 

(2)  Beatitude.     Blessed  are  the  poor   in  spirit: 

for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

10.  These  gifts,  grand  thought!  can  grow,  and   do 

grow  with  our  fervor  and  charity :  yet  there 
is  sometimes,  as  in  tepid  priests  and  mere  up- 
to-the-mark  religious,  a  mere  physical  growth 
of  them,  without  any  corresponding  actual 
growth,  or  any  proportionate  eliciting  of  them 
in  acts  of  perfection.* 

11.  They  are  very  delicate — and  are  almost  instantly 

tied  up  by  the  thinnest  ligatures  of  venial  sin. 

12.  Also  they  insist  on  being  our  masters:  we  must 

abandon  ourselves  to  them,  and  give  them  their 
fling. 

IV.  The  fruits  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  such  as  are  specially 
named  so  in  Scripture,  are  the  results  of  the 
maturity  of  grace. 

*Lallemaiit  (English  edition),  p.  148. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       83 

1.  They  are  certain  holy  actions  performed. 

(1)  With  agility. 

(2)  With  promptitude. 

(3)  With  sweetness. 

2.  There  is  a  maturity  about  them,  which  is  a  fourth 

quality,  distinguishing  them  even  more  than  the 
other  three  from  common  virtuous  actions. 

3.  They  very  peculiarly  fill  the  soul  with  God  :  this 

also  probably  results  from  their  maturity. 

4.  They  represent  the  Holy  Ghost  Himself  and  His 

divine  life. 

5.  Fruits : — Charity — because  He  is  the  love  of  the 

Father  and  the  Son. 

6.  Joy — because  He  is  the  jubilee  of  the  Father  and 

the  Son. 

7.  Peace — because  He  is  the  bond  of  the  Father  and 

the  Son. 

N.B. — These  three  fruits  are  the  fountains  of  all  the 
rest :  the  remaining  nine  of  the  twelve  are  more  or  less 
concerned  with  these  three,  and  more  or  less  subordi- 
nate to  them. 

8.  Patience — moderate  excess  of  sadness,  and  secures 

joy- 

9.  Meekness — allays  anger,  which  disturbs  charity, 

joy,  and  peace. 

10.  Goodness  —  an    energetic    inclination   to   benefit 

others,  which  is  joyous  charity. 

11.  Benignity  —  the    doing    of   this    cordially    and 

genially  :  geniality  is  an  emanation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

12.  Longanimity — against  weariness  and  fatigue,which 

hold  charity,  joy,  and  peace  under  pressure  and 
in  dulness.  ' 


84  PART  I. 

13.  Faith — a  facility  in  believing,  without  repugnance 

or  dulness. 

14.  Modesty  —  gracefulness   of  body,   manners,   and 

speech,  so  as  to  be  the  outward  beauty  of  charity, 
joy,  and  peace. 

15.  Temperance  —  refraining    bodily    appetites    and 

inordinations  by  mortification,  so  as  to  protect 
the  rights  of  our  spiritual  nature,  and  make 
room  for  charity,  joy  and  peace. 

16.  Chastity — the  virtue  of  purity :  a  kind  of  return 

to  innocence,  or  preservation  of  it — so   as  to 
make  the  soul  a  fair  temple  of  charity,  joy  and 
peace. 
V.  His  ways,  familiarities,  and  excesses. 

1.  Gratuitous  gifts,  not  necessarily  sanctifying  the 
receiver,  but  part  of  the  Holy  Ghost's  love  of 
the  Church.* 

(1)  Word    of   wisdom  —  knowledge    of   eternal 

things,  so  as  to  talk  of  them  pursuasively. 

(2)  Word  of  science  —  intuitive  gift  of  counsel 

about  moral  and  human  things. 

(3)  Faith — eloquence  and  clearness  to  teach  and 

make  plain  the  hard  mysteries  of  the  faith. 

(4)  Healing — to  cure  diseases  and  heal  wounds. 

(5)  Virtues — miracles     unconnected     with     the 

human   body. 

(6)  Prophecy — seeing   or   making   public   things 

future  or  things  absent. 

(7)  Discernment   of  spirits  —  seeing   into   hearts 

and  judging  of  operations  in  souls. 

(8)  Tongues — to  speak  them  or  to  hear  them. 

(9)  Interpretation  of  tongues  —  to  explain   diffi- 

*  Tempesti,  i.  379. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       85 

culties  in  Scripture,  or  hard  words  in  theo- 
logy, or  the  tongues  which  others  speak. 
(10)  All  these  were  in  Christ  habitually ;  and  of 
our  Lady,  Novatus  says,*  Dico  satis  credible 
esse  Beatoe  Virgini  a  primo  suce  conceptionis 
momenta  omnes  gratias  gratis  datas  per 
modum  habitus  a  Deo  fuisse  collatas.  Suaderi 
potest  ex  nonnullis  Scripturce  locis,  et  rationi- 
bus :  but  it  was  not  so  with  any  of  the  saints ; 
they  possessed  them  only  transiently. 

2.  His  inspirations. 

(1)  Their  frequency,  like  a  man  talking  softly  to 

us  all  the  day  long,  even  in  crowds. 

(2)  Their  delicacy,  like  muffled  notes  of  music, 

or  thin  leafy  whispers  of  a  breeze,  or  an 
unseen  lark  up  in  white  air — so  short, 
enigmatic,  fragmentary. 

(3)  Habit  of  listening  for  them — this  shapes  our 

whole  life  afresh,  and  gives  it  a  supernatural 
posture  and  attitude. 

(4)  They  multiply  by  listening,  like   a  bird  in 

a  wood  who  is  answered  by  another,  or  as 
sounds  come  in  quiet  places  when  we  listen ; 
so  we  are  ever  hearing  celestial  music,  broken 
now  and  then  by  higher  surges  of  wind, 
when  the  world  and  life  are  stormy. 

(5)  All  perfection  consists  in  docility  to  them: 

the  faults  of  the  saints  came  from  want  of 
this  ;  it  is  the  subject  matter  of  their  faults, 
as  disobedience  to  the  commandments  is  the 
subject  matter  of  positive  sins. 

3.  His  caresses. 

*  Cap.  xix.  qu.  xiv. 


86  PART  L 

(1)  Sweetnesses — in  prayer,  suffering,  and  spiri- 

tual occupations  :  a  shred  of  His  jubilee. 

(2)  Surprises — tears,    smiles,    holy   fear,   sudden 

familiarity  with  God,  momentary  contacts 
and  senses  of  His  presence. 

(3)  Sudden  leaps  in  the  road   to  perfection,  out 

of  the  common  laws  of  slow  acquisition,  as 
when  all  the  species  of  evil  thoughts  were 
suddenly  destroyed  in  the  mind  of  St. 
Ignatius  at  Manresa. 

(4)  Special  attractions  in  the  spiritual  life,   and 

the  whole  doctrine  of  vocation ;  vocation  is 
His  caress ;  to  go  against  it  is  to  refuse 
His  kiss. 

(5)  Special  and  peculiar  graces,  one  or  more  of 

which  distinguish  nearly  every  man,  such  as 
keeping  recollected,  and  the  like. 

(6)  Locutions,  out  loud  or  in  the  heart,  common 

to  all  the  saints. 

(7)  Violent  conversions,  unlike  the  gentleness  of 

unresisted  grace:  sometimes  also  He  is 
violent  with  the  saints,  and  on  the  whole 
masterfulness,  like  the  strong  wind  at  Pen- 
tecost, is  a  characteristic  of  Him. 

(8)  Curious  states  of  some  holy  souls,  as  if  free 

will  were  almost  gone:  St.  Gertrude  could 
only  say  what  our  Lord  wished  her  to  say 
— others  could  only  pray  as  He  wished — 
others  could  not  hear  when  worldly  things 
were  talked  of;  but  in  all  these  and  similar 
states  the  spirit  of  Jesus  is  the  predominant 
thing  which  the  Holy  Ghost  produces. 

(9)  Unions  with  some  one  attribute  of  God — or 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        87 

one  mystery   of   Jesus — or   Mary — or  the 
Blessed  Sacrament. 

(10)  Familiarities  with  simply  souls,  the  Dove  nest- 
ling in  human  wills  for  ever,  with  a  predi- 
lection like  that  of  Jesus :  instances  from 
Siniscalchi ;  St.  Gregory,  St.  Philip,  <fec. 
Look  at  a  building  full  of  strange  machinery — so  is 
the  soul  with  all  this  machinery  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


CHAPTER  V. 
DEVOTION  TO  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 

WE  have  seen  now  Who  the  Holy  Ghost  is,  and  what 
He  has  done,  and  what  He  does  in  our  own  souls ;  we 
now  come  to  the  practical  question  of  the  devotion  we 
ought  to  have  for  Him. 
I.  What  devotion  to  One  of  the  Divine  Persons  means. 

1.  Each  Person  is  equal  altogether  to  the  other  Two: 

simple  adoration  is  due  to  Him,  as  to  the  One 
God. 

2.  Indeed  one  Person  cannot  be  worshipped  without 

All  being  so :  so  that  even  when  directed  to  One 
it  falls  upon  All. 

3.  Such  devotion  as  we  pay  to  Mary,  angels,  and 

saints,  is  impossible ;  although,  as  with  those 
inferior  devotions,  our  devotion  to  Divine  Per- 
sons rests  both  on  the  imitable  and  the  admir- 
able :  God  is  almost  more  imitable  than  the 
Saints,  because  of  His  inimitable  simplicity. 

4.  We  have  a  knowledge  of  the  different  Persons, 

and   the    peculiarities   of  Their    relative    sub- 


88  PART  I. 

sistenoe,  putting  out  of  view  Their  absolute 
Essence. 

5.  On  this  knowledge  certain  feelings  rise,  which  are 

distinctive. 

6.  Devotion  to  One  of  the  Divine  Persons  is  there- 

fore the  simple  worship  of  God,  into  which  these 
distinctive  feelings  enter ;  and  these  feelings 
direct  the  acts  of  the  mind  and  heart  peculiarly 
to  One  of  the  Persons,  as  if  specifying,  or  giving 
a  species  to,  the  worship. 

7.  Thus  it  is  devotion  in  the  highest  sense  of  devo- 

tion :  it  is  adoration  of  the  Divine  Essence,  not 
so  much  limited  to  One  Person  by  being  directed 
to  Him,  but  with  the  feelings  excited  by  the 
characteristics  of  One  Person  rather  than  the 
other  Two  added  to  it,  which  makes  it  a  very 
special  act  of  worship  of  the  other  Two,  as  the 
Three  Divine  Persons  are  Their  own  mutual 
love,  and  joy,  and  self-sufficiency. 
II.  By  what  means  we  arrive  at  devotion  to  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

1.  It  is  founded,  first  of  all,  on  our  knowledge  of  His 

peculiar  place  in  the  Divine  Life. 

2.  Next  on  His  action  in  and  upon  creation,  as  shown 

in  its  history. 

3.  Next  on  His  connection  with  Jesus. 

4.  Next  on  His  work  and  method  in  the  individual 

soul. 

5.  We   must   make   an   idea  of  Him  as  we  do  of 

Jesus.  Our  devotion  to  our  Blessed  Lord  is 
based  upon  our  idea  of  Him ;  we  should  have 
had  a  devotion  to  Him  if  we  had  only  known 
that  He  was  our  Incarnate  Redeemer:  but, 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        89 

having  the  four  Gospels,  our  idea  of  Him  is  more 
characteristic,  intimate,  and  detailed,  and  our  idea 
of  Him  is  drawn  from  them.  So  must  we  from 
Scripture,  theology,  lives  of  saints,  and  our  own 
experience,  make  an  idea  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

6.  We  must  ascertain — 

(1)  What  He  is  like. 

(2)  What  He  has  done. 

(3)  What  He  does. 

(4)  How  He  does  it. 

(5)  Our  own  concern  with  Him,  His  work,  and 

His  Method. 

We  must  then  correct  our  idea  by  the  analogy  of 
faith. 

7.  This  inquiry,  and  this  correction,  have  been  the 

occupations  of  the  preceding  lectures;   so  we 
may  now  build  up  our  devotion,  simply  recapitu- 
lating what  we  have  said.     It  is  important  to 
remember  that  any  probable  opinion  is  sufficient 
to  form  a  principle  and  foundation  for  a  devotion.* 
III.  The  likenesses  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
1.  He  has  three  kinds  of  likenesses. 

(1)  Likeness  to  the  Father,  from  whom  He  has 

received  the  Father's  own  likeness. 

(2)  Likeness  to  Jesus — 

1.  From  whom  He  has  received  the  likeness 

of  the  Son's  Divine  Nature. 

2.  To  whose  Human  Nature  He  has  Himself 

given  the  likeness  of  His  Divine  Nature. 

(3)  Likeness  to  Mary  and  the   Saints,  which  is 

wholly  from   Himself,   and  a  reflection  of 
Himself. 

*Lallemant  (English  edition),  p.  180. 


90  PART  I. 

2.  His  actual  likenesses. 

(1)  To  the  Father. 

1.  In  His  habit  of  pleading   with   men,  as  if 

He  were  their  equal,  as  with  Cain,  Job, 
Jonas,  and  the  Jews. 

2.  In  His  non-incarnation. 

3.  In   His  repairing  His  ruined  projects,  like 

a  spider  its  web,  as  the  Fall,  vocation  of 
the  Jews,  Jewish  kingdom,  &c.,  and  so 
with  each  soul. 

4.  In  His  jealousy ;  in  this  he  is  less  like  the 

Son  than  like  the  Father. 

5.  In     His     sensitiveness ;      being     so     easily 

grieved. 

(2)  To  Jesus. 

1.  In  His.gentleness. 

2.  In  His  patience,  and  His  power  of  waiting ; 

though  here,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter, 
there  is  a  difference ;  but  in  the  forbear- 
ance the  likeness  is  complete. 

3.  In  His  minuteness  of  love. 

4.  In   His    prodigality — He   is  spendthrift  of 

His  inspirations,  as  the  Son  was  of  His 
Precious  Blood.  Oh  the  waste  of  inspira- 
tions !  yet  each  one  of  Them,  rightly  consi- 
dered, is  more  wonderful  than  the  grandest 
book  ever  written,  or  the  finest  work  of 
art  ever  designed,  let  alone  executed. 

5.  In  unity  of  spirit  with  Jesus. 

(3)  To  Mary. 

1.  She  has  borrowed   all   from   Him,  and   so 

reflects  Him. 

2.  In  her  love  of  Jesus. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        91 

3.  In  her  share  in  the  Incarnation. 

4.  In  her  union  of  the  deepest  pathos  with  the 

highest  joy  ever  found  in  a  creature. 

5.  In  her  intercessory  office. 

6.  In  the  way  she  teaches  Jesus,  leads  to  Him, 

magnifies  Him,  glorifies  Him,  hides  herself 
behind  Him,  so  that  He  may  be  the  more 
seen. 

7.  As   in   long  years   people  grow   like  each 
other  by   living    together,   so  with    Mary 
and   her  Spouse  the   Holy  Ghost,  in  her 
successive  sanctifications :  she  had  become 
so  much   more  like   Jesus   upon   Calvary, 
that    the    Holy    Ghost    founded    on    that 
another     indescribable     sauctification     at 
Pentecost. 

(4)  To  Angels. 

1.  In  invisibility  of  offices. 

2.  In  fidelity  of  unwearied  ministrations. 

3.  In  joyousness,  yet  pitifulness  for  men  ;  as  St. 

Raphael,  His  own  angel,  so  sets  forth  with 
all  his  joy  a  romance  of  sympathy  with  the 
sorrows  of  human  life. 

4.  In  the  exhibition  which  they  are  of  countless 

variety  of  His  graces. 

5.  In  their  end,  which  is  to  glorify  Jesus  their 

King. 

(5)  To  the  Saints. 

They  are  His  portrait  of  Himself:  they  are 
saints,  because  He  is  the  Holy  Spirit ;  His 
gifts  in  them,  His  fruits  in  them — this  is 
their  sanctity.  They  are  His  Bible,  just 
as  the  Old  Testament  reveals  the  Father, 


92  PART  L 

and   the   New  Testament   the   Son,  so  the 
saints    of    the    Church    reveal    the    Holy 
Ghost. 
3.  The  likeness  of  His  created  symbols. 

(1)  Wind. 

1.  Represents     His    invisibility,    with    visible 

effects. 

2.  His  seeming  waywardness,  as  He  lists :  i.  e., 

no  law  discernible,  but  some  law  deep 
laid  in  His  uncreated  love,  working  up 
from  beneath  the  depths  of  His  predesti- 
nation. 

3.  His  vehemence,  as  at  Pentecost  the  rushing 

wind ;  so  the  Church  in  some  ages  of  the 
world  has  been  visibly  shaken  by  this 
wind. 

(2)  Dove. 

1.  The  quiet   pacific   method  of  His  common 

action. 

2.  His  brooding  character,  as  at  creation  over 

chaos. 

3.  His  plaintive   pathos,  like  that  shy  hidden 

voice  of  the  deep  woodland  life,  that  woos 
and  complains,  and  puts  a  soul  into  the 
summer  woods,  overruling,  yet  not  by  loud- 
ness,  all  other  songs  of  birds. 

(3)  Fire. 

1.  His  being  the  love  of  the  Father  and  the 

Son. 

2.  His   intensity :    consuming,    refining,    trans- 

muting all  things,  especially  all  created 
attachments. 

3.  His  masterfulness :  He  will  reign  alone. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        93 

(4)  Bright    Cloud,    as    at    Transfiguration    and 

Ascension. 

1.  Light,  yet  a  light  that  hides — a  privacy  of 

glorious  light  is  Thine — breeds  love  of  con- 
cealment in  others :  all  sanctity  is  shy. 

2.  Jesus  hides  in  Him,  and  is  borne  about  on 

Him  as  on  a  car. 

3.  Silent  procession  of  clouds,  varying  shapes, 

melting  off  and  reappearing,  hanging  about 
heights,  fantastic  mutations  in  blue  sky, 
making  light  beautiful :  all  these  pheno- 
mena are  images  of  Him. 

(5)  Shadow,  as  with  Mary. 

1.  A  shadow  from  creation's  garish  light. 

2.  A  shadow  which    fertilizes,   and    preserves 

the  dampness,  like  a  wood  on  the  edge  of 
the  sandy  wilderness. 

3.  A  shadow  which  cools  nature's  heats,  and 

inspires  a  joyous  awe  as  of  God's  neigh- 
borhood. 

IV.  His  peculiarities  as  exhibited  in  His  action  in 
creation,  and  the  way  in  which  they  each  and 
all  correspond  to  what  is  distinctive  about  Him 
in  the  Divine  Life. 

1.  Something  so  very  human  about  Him,  rather 
than  angelic:  at  least  as  He  reveals  Himself 
to  men. 

(1)  As  if,  like  the  Eternal  Word,  He  was  more 

drawn  to  our  nature. 

(2)  The  Scriptures  specially  attribute   creature- 
like  feelings  to  Him. 

(3)  Griefs — plaints — Abba,    Father — intercession 

— likeness  of   dove.     This  answers  to   His 


94  PART  I. 

being  next  to  creatures  as  the  Term  of  the 
Godhead. 

2.  His  likeness,   in  His   action  in   creation,  to  the 

Father  and  the  Son,  as  above  drawn  out.  This 
answers  to  His  Procession  from  them  Both,  as 
one  principle. 

3.  His  tenderness  and  love,  which  we  have  already 

seen.  This  answers  to  His  proceeding  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son  by  the  way  of  the  will,  and 
not  by  the  way  of  the  understanding. 

4.  Joy — put    forward    especially    in    Scripture    as 

among  His  most  prominent  fruits  and  constant 
effects.  This  answers  to  His  being  the  Jubilee 
of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

The  disciples  were  filled  with  joy  and  with 

the  Holy  Ghost.     Acts  xiii.  52. 
The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink  : 
but  justice,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.     Rom.  xiv.  17. 
The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  charity,  joy,  peace, 

&c.    Gal.  v.  22. 

Receiving  the  word  in  much  tribulation,  with 
joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     1  Thess.  i.  6. 

5.  Thus,  His   created  symbols   answer  to   His  un- 

created relative  subsistence. 

V.  The  spirit  of  devotion  to  Him ;  it  is  as  to  Jesus  in 
the  Passion,  not  Jesus  Risen. 

1.  A  spirit  of  tearful  tenderness  and  pathos. 

2.  A  spirit  of  familiarity, — from  His  intimacy,  and 

the  colloquial  nature  of  His  inspirations. 

3.  A  spirit  of  docility — for  He  is  master. 

4.  A  spirit  of  detachment,  because  He  is  the  end  of 

creatures :  to  us  God  begins  with  Him. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  IRINITY.        95 

5.  A  spirit  of  holy  fear,  because,  1.  Of  what  Jesus 

says  of  Him.  2.  Of  what  we  ourselves  know 
of  Him. 

6.  A  spirit  of  simplicity,  as  simple  souls  are  His  own 

obvious  attraction  and  devotion. 

7.  A  spirit  of  truthfulness  and  reality :  e.g.  Ananias 

and  Sapphira. 

8.  A  spirit  of  haired  of  heresy,  as  it  is  a  sin  espe- 

cially against  Him. 

9.  A  spirit  of  Humility :   He  exhibits  something  in 

God's  tenderness  so  like  what  would  be  humility 
in  creatures:  there  is  nothing  in  the  Divine 
Nature  on  which  God  could  base  humility — 
so  He  bases  a  sweet  semblance  of  it  upon  our 
necessities,  and  sorrows,  and  even  our  trans- 
gressions. 

VI.  The  effects  of  devotion  to  Him  upon  the  soul. 

1.  It  brings  us,  as  it  were,  into  the  life  of  God. 

2.  It  makes  us  gradually  at  home  in  the  mystery  of 

the  Holy  Trinity,  which  is  our  eternal  home. 

3.  It  breeds  in  us  the  real  spirit  of  Jesus. 

4.  It  makes  us  interior,  yet  outlooking,  just  in  the 

right  proportions. 

5.  It  increases  His  gifts  and  multiplies  His  fruits 

in  us. 

6.  Its  most  direct  effects  are  to  give  us  facility  in 

believing,  and  promptitude  in  serving  God. 

7.  A  spirit  of  the  most  irrepressible  joy,  and  exclu- 

sive rejoicing  in  unworldly  things. 

VII.  Examples  of  it. 

1.  The  apostles,  in  councils,  epistles,  &c. 

2.  St.  Gregory  the  Great  with  the  dove  at  his  ear. 

3.  Blessed  Crispin  of  Viterbo. 


96  PART  I. 

4.  St.  Philip's  miraculous  heart. 

5.  It  ought  to  be  the  spirit  of  the  Oratory. 

(1)  Because  of  its  Founder. 

(2)  Its  occupations — preaching,  confession ,  prayer : 

endless  reliance  on  the  Holy  Ghost. 

(3)  Spirit   of  joy  and   brightness:   sunniness — it 

accounts  for  St.  Philip's. 

(4)  The  institute  has  charity  instead  of  vow. 

(5)  Revelation  to  the  Ven.  Serafina  di  Dio.  * 

VIII.  How  this  devotion  concerns  us,  seen  by  a  con- 

trast between  hearts  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
hearts  without  Him.f 

1.  To  have,  or  not  to  have  Him,  makes  all  the  differ- 

ence of  the  beauty  and  reality  of  this  life  ; 

2.  And  all  the  destiny  of  the  life  to  come. 

3.  It  means  whether  we  belong  to  Jesus  or  not. 

4.  Amid   Angels    the    difference    is   that    between 

Michael  and  Satan. 

5.  Among  men,  between  Peter  and  Judas. 

6.  On  the  quantity  of  Him,  or  intimacy  with  Him, 

or  docility  to  Him,  lies  based  all  the  huge  differ- 
ence between  saints  and  common  believers. 

7.  To  be  without  Him  is  to  have  been  by  our  own 

fault  created  for  nothing,  or  worse  than  nothing, 
to  have  missed  the  end  of  our  creation,  to  be  a 
part  of  everlasting  darkness,  of  everlasting 
unlovingness. 

IX.  Contrasts  between  the  Holy  Ghost  and  Jesus. 

*  V.  note  at  the  end  of  the  chapter,  p.  99. 

f  The  devotion  of  the  Cur6  of  Ars  to  the  Holy  Ghost ;  Spirit  of 
the  Cure  of  Ars,  p.  47.  See  also  lives  of  Grignon  de  Montfort, 
Liebermann,  and  Desplaces,  founder  of  the  Seminaire  du  St. 
Esprit.  St.  Gertrude's  visions  concerning  the  Holy  Ghost  are 
given  in  her  life,  lib.  iv.  cap.  40. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.        97 

1.  We  are  speaking  of  peculiarities,  not  oppositions, 

in  order  to  clear  our  view  and  base  our  devotion. 

2.  He  is  with  us  now,  like  a  Second  Jesus,  only 

without  Body,  Eyes  and  Voice. 

3.  All  life  the  world  over,  all  Christian  life  is  now 

like  the  thirty-three  years  in  Palestine,  teaching, 
healing,  being  beautiful,  as  the  son  was  then : 
or  rather  it  is  the  three  years'  Ministry  prolonged 
to  the  Doom — not  the  Infancy  or  Passion :  this 
is  remarkable,  as  devotion  to  Him  is  in  spirit  so 
similar  to  devotion  to  the  Passion :  Jesus  Him- 
self continues  the  Infancy  and  Passion  by  means 
of  the  Mass  and  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  while 
the  Holy  Ghost  continues  the  Ministry,  but  con- 
tinues it  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  with  peculiarities. 

4.  His  presence  such  as  to  make  it  expedient  Christ 

should  go. 

5.  Seeming    contrasts,    or    say    rather,    individual 

features  of  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  side  of  Jesus. 

(1)  He  speaks  more,  is  less  taciturn. 

(2)  More  pathetic :  it  is  we  ourselves  who  mostly 

put  pathos  into  the  actions  of  Jesus  when  we 
preach:  in  the  narrative  of  the  Gospels 
there  is  a  peculiar,  almost  unpathetic,  bright- 
ness and  simplicity. 

(3)  He  takes  the  initiative  more. 

(4)  He  is  more  touchy  and  sensitive,  if  we  may 

venture  on  such  words. 

(5)  He  seems,  with  all  his  devotion  to  sinners,  to 

have  a  greater  devotion  to  saints:  whereas 
this  was  less  brought  out  in  our  Lord. 

(6)  He  seems  to  make  more  haste :  St  Ambrose's 

neseit  tarda  molimina  Spiritus  Sancti  gratia. 
Vol.  I.  G 


98  PAET  I. 

(7)  He  punishes  more,  as  if  His  justice  were  more 
purely  divine. 

There  is  ever  before  me  a  dim  vision  of  the  beauty 
of  the  Third  Person  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  the 
eternally  proceeding  Love  of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
I  have  tried  to  image  Him,  as  the  dove  or  tongues  of 
fire ;  then  as  the  sound  of  the  mountain-wind  high  up, 
while  the  woods  and  lakes  lay  unruffled  in  the  vales ; 
then  as  a  wondrous  shoreless  uncreated  Sea  of  Love. 
But  I  was  discontented.  Then  I  tried  to  picture  His 
Divine  Person,  not  like  the  Ancient  of  Days  in  Daniel, 
as  the  Father,  nor  like  the  Lamb  slain,  as  the  Incar- 
nate Son,  but  as  a  distinct  person  veiled  in  light,  and 
the  white  resplendency  of  shadow-casting  clouds.  But 
it  was  not  enough.  Then  I  pictured  Him  as  if  He 
were  the  viewless  air,  which  I  breathed,  which  was 
my  life,  as  if  the  air  were  He,  going  into  me  and  coming 
out,  and  He  a  Divine  Person,  sweetly  envious  of  the 
Son,  sweetly  coveting  the  Sacred  Humanity  which  He 
Himself  had  fashioned,  and  coming  into  the  world  on 
beautifullest  mission,  seeking  to  be  as  near  incarnate 
as  He  could  be  without  an  actual  incarnation ;  and  it 
was  so  near  that  he  seemed  almost  human,  though 
unincarnate.  And  this  was  the  clearest  view  I  ever 
could  see  of  that  Divine  Person. 

May  He  forgive  what  I  have  written  of  Him,  and 
accept  it,  and  bear  with  me  a  little  longer,  till  I  have 
drawn  my  last  breath  in  Him,  and  breathed  it  forth 
again  as  my  first  breath  of  another  life,  a  fresh  son 
newly  born  at  the  Feet  of  the  Eternal  Father ! 

ST.  MARY'S,  SYDENHAM, 
The  Annunciation,  1857. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.       99 


APPENDIX. 

REVELATION  TO  THE  YEN.  SERAFINA  DI  DIO,  CAKMELITESS 
AT  NAPLES. 

In  1699,  on  the  evening  preceding  the  Nativity  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  the  special  feast  of  the  Oratory  at  Naples,  the 
servant  of  God  had  a  revelation  which  she  gave  in  writing  to 
her  director:  it  is  as  follows: — 

"I  should  wish  to  write,  not  with  a  pen,  bat  with  the 
tongue  of  a  Seraph,  not  with  ink,  but  with  my  own  blood, 
that  this  letter  might  be  a  flame  of  fire,  to  consume  the  whole 
Congregation,  or  I  should  wish  to  send  the  very  interior  of 
my  heart  to  explain  and  make  you  understand  what  I  heard 
on  the  eve  of  the  Nativity  from  the  Blessed  Virgin  herself, 
and  from  our  and  your  Holy  Father  St.  Philip  regarding  his 
Congregation. 

"  I  saw  the  Saint  with  the  great  Mother  of  God  in  a  flame 
of  fire,  and  surrounded  with  light ;  I  prayed  earnestly  to  him 
for  his  Congregation  and  for  each  individual  of  it  in  particular ; 
and  with  a  sweet  countenance,  he  said  to  me  many  beautiful 
things,  of  which  I  will  tell  you  some  briefly. 

"  The  saint  showed  me  what  his  sons  ought  to  be  and  also 
the  dignity  of  the  Congregation,  made  as  it  were  after  the 
likeness  of  God  and  of  the  Three  Divine  Persons,  especially 
of  the  Person  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  and  he  told  me,  that  those 
who  belong  to  the  Congregation  ought  not  to  be  called  by  any 
other  name  than  sons  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  the  Con- 
gregation ought  to  be  called  the  Temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
he  said,  it  was  not  my  spirit  that  founded  it,  but  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  as  such  they  ought  to  work  and  to  be  all  love  for 
God  and  their  neighbor ;  I  desire  nothing  of  them,  but  that 
they  burn  with  that  fire,  of  which  they  are  the  sons ;  and  he 
made  me  perceive  clearly  that  this  is  suitable  to  this  Con- 
gregation :  and  I  saw  the  care  he  has  for  it,  and  the  many 
caresses  that  he  bestowed  on  some  of  the  Fathers  and  the 
encouragements  he  gave  them. 


100  PART  L 

"  I  also  saw  that  the  Blessed  Virgin  is  the  Patroness  and 
Protectress  of  the  Congregation,  and  this  consoled  me  much. 
Oh  why  have  I  not  words  to  express  the  nobility  of  the 
Congregation  and  its  state  and  high  condition,  because  its 
members  have  no  other  obligation  than  to  love  God,  who  is 
the  summit  and  perfection  of  everything;  they  are  children 
chosen  for  great  heights  of  spirituality.  Oh  how  noble  did 
it  appear  to  me !  and  how  great  did  the  last  imperfection 
seem  in  them,  on  account  of  the  dignity  of  their  condition 
and  the  delights  of  their  state,  which  I  saw  to  be  like  a 
meadow,  rejoicing  in  the  sweet  breezes  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  excites  His  sons  to  work  nobly  and  of  their  own  free 
will. 

"  I  knew  in  general,  that  in  proportion  to  the  nobility  of 
this  state,  a  greater  and  more  immaculate  correspondence  to 
it  is  required :  and  I  saw  how  frightful  is  the  least  stain  and 
dust  of  imperfection  in  him  who  professes  it.  The  Saint  told 
me  that  with  great  affection  he  recommended  them  all  to  God. 
All  this  was  in  general.  May  the  Lord  be  ever  praised  and 
blessed !  I  knew  then  in  the  mind  of  the  Holy  Father  what 
he  wished  to  say  to  me  and  what  he  meant  by  showing  me 
so  many  beautiful  things.  For  without  speaking  he  had 
explained  to  me  the  perfection  we  must  have,  in  order  to  be 
children  of  light. 

"It  would  be  monstrous,  if  fire  were  to  produce  snow, 
light  darkness,  and  crystal  mud.  I  do  not  know  how  to 
explain  myself  better,  but  I  understand  the  meaning  that  the 
Saint  wished  to  convey.  It  would  be  wonderful  if  a  sweet 
tree  produced  gall ;  how  much  greater  a  prodigy  would  it  be, 
if  in  any  sons  of  St.  Philip,  who  are  called  sons  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  any  defect  were  to  exist!  I  saw  the  sanctity  that 
the  state  requires  and  that  which  he  who  professes  it  can 
easily  attain  to  and  ought  to  possess.  I  saw  the  saint  caress 
many  of  the  Fathers  and  encourage  many  others.  1  write 
briefly,  for  I  had  a  night  and  a  day  of  such  delights  as  our 
Lord  only  knows." 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.     10J 

II. 
PENTECOST. 

I.  What  can  they  want  who  have  Jesus  ?  e.g.  Disciples 

in  Judea. 

1.  Fascination  of  personal  influence :  His  was  beyond 

compare. 

2.  Marvellous    beauty,  variety,  novelty,  and    yet 

familiarity  of  His  kindness  and  gentleness. 

3.  The  secret,  nameless,  supernatural  spell  which 

breathed  out  from  Him. 

4.  The  sheathing  of  His  Godhead  in  His  human 

tenderness. 

5.  Yet  the  ever  new  delight  of  the  knowledge  of 

His  Godhead. 

II.  Yet  our  Lord  Himself  said  they  did  want  some- 

thing :  their  want  was  the  Holy  Ghost. 

1.  A  Divine   Person  who  is  specially  love,  and  so 

especially  to  be  worshipped  by  love. 

2.  Overshadowing  Mary  —  John  said   Jesus  would 

baptize  with  the  Holy  Ghost — last  day  of  feast 
(John  vii.  37-39). 

3.  What  Jesus  said  Himself — It  is  expedient  that  I 

go  away — and  that  blasphemy  against  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  not  to  be  forgiven. 

4.  His  coming  made  apostles :  it  was  Mary's  second 

Pentecost. 

5.  So  our  Lord  taught  as  if  the  one  grand  thing  He 

had  to  teach  was  devotion  to  the  Holy  Ghost. 
He  came  to  kindle  that  fire,  and  He  yearned  to 
have  it  kindled. 


102  PART  I. 

HI.  We  too  are  with  Jesus — not  in  spirit  only,  but  in 
literal  presence;  yet  we  too  need  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  we  need — 

1.  More  love  of  Jesus  Himself. 

2.  More  putting  in  mind  of  what  He  said. 

3.  A  more  yearning  spirit  of  prayer. 

4.  More  power  against  self  and  worldliness. 

5.  More,  oh,  a  thousand   times  more  love  of  each 

other.   This  is  the  grand  want  of  the  world  just 
now — the  want  that  cries  aloud  and  clamors  to 
be  satisfied, -lest  the  glory  of  God  and  the  spirit 
of  Jesus  should  altogether  cease  from  off  the 
earth.   Here,  then,  is  the  way  in  which  devotion 
to  the  Holy  Ghost  is  so  acceptable  to  our  Blessed 
Lady.  She  sees  the  earth  perishing,  not  so  much 
because  men  do  not  love  G"^;  as  because  they 
do  not  love  one  another.     The  heathen  said  of 
primitive  Christians,  not,  see  how  these  men  love 
God — but,  see  how  they  love  one  another. 
I  seem  always  to  see  our  dear  and  blessed  God  bend- 
ing over  us,  yearning  to  fill  our  hearts  with,  oh  such 
graces  and  such  a  much  more  exceeding  love — and  He 
cannot,  because  we  will  not,  make  our  hearts  large  with 
love  of  each  other ! 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.     103 

III. 
GOD  A  GOD  OF  FIRE.* 

I.  I  am  come  to  send  fire  on  the  earth,  and  what  will 

I  but  that  it  be  kindled  ? — St.  Luke  xii.  49.  How 
strange  this  sounds  from  Jesus,  meek  and  humble 
of  heart! 

1.  Compare  the  spirit  of  it  with  the  night  of  the 

Incarnation  and  the  night  of  Bethlehem. 

2.  Or  the  quiet  fires  in  the  hearts  of  Mary  and  Joseph 

in  the  holy  House  of  Nazareth. 

3.  Or  with   the  abysses   of   the   abjection   of   the 

Passion. 

4.  Or  with  the  secret  apparitions  of  the  beautiful 

Forty  Days  after  the  Resurrection. 

5.  Or  with  the  passive,  patient  stillness  of  the  Blessed 

Sacrament. 

II.  Yet  the  scene  at  Pentecost. 

1.  They  wait,  Mary  in  the  midst,  and  the  chosen  few, 

for  Him  Who  is  to  be  so  much  to  them  that  it 
was  well  that  Jesus  should  go  away. 

2.  They  wait  for  Him,  Who  is  eminently  the  Spirit 

of  Jesus,  and  will  bring  to  mind  all  He  said. 

3.  For  Him  with  Whom  Jesus  in  His  Human  Nature 

has  now  been  ten  days  in  heaven !    Oh  the  mar- 
vellous occupations  of  those  ten  days ! 

4.  He  comes  to  them  in  the  vehement  majesty  of  a 

mighty  wind,  and  scatters  Himself  in  showers 
of  fire  like  cloven  tongues. 

*  Whitsunday,  1858. 


104  PART L 

5.  So  that  Mary  and  the  apostles  seemed  to  the  mul- 
titudes to  be  drunk  with  new  wine. 

III.  God  always  a  God  of  fire. 

1.  He  calls  Himself  so :  The  Lord  thy  God  is  a  con- 

suming fire.     Deut.  iv.  24. 

2.  He  appeared  as  such  to  Isaias ;  as  a  whirlwind 

and  enfolding  fire  to  Ezekiel.  St.  John  says 
(Apoc.  i.  14),  His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire. 

3.  Burning  Bush :  in  the  inner  folds  of  the  desert, 

and  ravines  of  Horeb,  to  Moses. 

4.  (Daniel  vii.  9,  10.)     His  throne  like  flames ;  the 

wheels  of  it  like  burning  fire,  and  a  swift  stream 
of  fire  issued  forth  from  before  Him :  vision 
seen  in  the  first  year  of  Baltassar,  King  of 
Babylon. 

5.  In  these  sweet  fires  we  are  to  dwell  eternally. 

Isaias  (xxxiii.  14)  asks,  which  of  you  can  dwell 
with  devouring  fire?  which  of  you  shall  dwell 
with  everlasting  burnings?  and  the  answer  is, 
he  that  walketh  in  justices. 

IV.  So  our  religion  is  a  religion  of  fire. 

1.  It  was  the  one  will  of  Jesus  to  kindle  this  fire  on 

earth. 

2.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  never  otherwise  in  the  heart 

than  as  fire. 

3.  The  fires  of  the  Eternal  Father  are  to  be  our 

everlasting  home. 

4.  What  manner  of  fire  should  we  have  then? 

Fiery  love,  fiery  faith,  fire  consuming  self,  fire 
burning  the  world  out  of  our  hearts,  fire  likely 
to  make  men  think  us  drunk  or  mad. 

5.  What  is   the   case   in   reality?     Do   we    burn? 

Are  we  vehement?    Do  our  hearts  throb  and 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.     105 

beat  tumultuously  with  love  of  God?  Do  we 
understand  that  lifelong  broken  heart  of  our 
great  father  St.  Philip,  burst  with  the  ball  of 
fire,  which  was  the  Holy  Ghost  ? — Oh  if  our 
religion  be  a  moral  indifference,  a  calm  bargain- 
ing with  God,  a  prudential  speculation,  a  dis- 
creet fear  of  hell,  a  frigid  propriety,  a  servile 
keeping  of  the  letter  of  God's  law — it  may  be 
a  religion — but  is  it  the  religion  written  in  the 
Bible?  Is  it  the  fire  which  it  was  our  dearest 
Lord's  one  will  to  kindle  ? 

Oh  that  that  Divine  Person  would  come  down  upon 
us  with  His  fire  to-day,  would  break  our  hearts  with 
the  magnificent  excesses  of  the  love  of  God,  would  burn 
us  with  the  pain  of  the  great  pleasure  of  His  fire! 
Sweet,  gentle,  plaintive,  vehement,  fiery,  enthusiast 
Spirit ! — Oh  that  he  would  so  light  His  flames  in  our 
hearts  that  from  this  hour  our  whole  life  should  be 
nothing  but  an  unbroken  Pentecost ! 


.  IV. 
DOCILITY  TO  THE  HOLY  GHOST. 

In  speaking  of  the  Holy  Ghost  we  can  either  rise  up 
into  the  ineffable  splendors  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity, 
or  go  down  into  the  most  secret  and  noiseless  centre  of 
our  own  souls :  this  last  to-day. 
I.  Our  union  with  the  Holy  Ghost. 

1.  He  Himself  actually  dwells  in  us. 

2.  We  are  more  under  His  care  than  the  disciples 


106  PART  I. 

were  under  that  of  Jesus  in  the  Thirty-three 
Years. 

3.  He  dwells  in  us  in  a  new  way  with  every  aug- 

mentation of  sanctifying  grace. 

4.  No  words  can  describe  the  intimate  familiarity 

in  which  we  live  with  this  Third  Person  of  the 
Most  Holy  Trinity. 

5.  His  ceaseless  action  upon  our  souls,  through  His 

love  of  Jesus  and  of  ourselves. 

6.  His  gifts,  and  His  fruits  as  well  as  His  graces. 

7.  His  inspirations,  multitudinous  and  incessant. 

II.  Inspirations. 

1.  We  are  with  Him  as  Adam  was  with  God  in 

Eden. 

2.  To  all  good  persons  He  is  speaking  continually. 

3.  Perfection  may  be  defined  as  consisting  simply  of 

docility  to  His  inspirations. 

4.  He  speaks  low,  and    His   operations    are   very 

delicate. 

5.  He  loves  and  expects  to  be  consulted. 

6-  And  furthermore,  even  when  not  consulted,  a 
habit  of  listening  to  Him  is  an  essential  part 
of  the  spiritual  life;  without  it,  prayer  can 
never  be  supernatural,  or  more  than  a  pious 
habit;  not  a  real  familiarity,  or  union  of  the 
soul  with  God. 

7.  This  life  of  perpetual  secret  colloquy  with  the 
Third  Person  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity  is  what 
is  meant  by  an  interior  life. 

III.  Consequences  of  not  listening  to  inspirations. 

1.  Our  own  spiritual  life,  and  God's  designs  upon  us 
are  nothing  but  mist,  confusion  and  unmeaning 
generalities. 


GOD  AND  THE  MOST  HOLY  TRINITY.     107 

2.  So  we  come  in  outward  things  to  work  on  impulse, 

or  from  natural  activity,  without  consulting,  or 
listening  for  the  Holy  Ghost. 

3.  Hence  neither  our  works  nor  ourselves  have  the 

secret  of  success,  or  the  root  of  perseverance. 
Oh  the  sweetness  of  an  interior  life — its  firmness,  its 
repose,  its  clear  atmosphere, — how  beautiful  it  is,  ever 
at  the  feet  of  that  Third  Person  of  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity  learning  the  secrets  of  heaven,  in  whispers  of  a 
sweet  music,  which  no  ear  but  ours  can  hear  ! 


part  Second 

THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS. 


SECTION  I. 
OUR  BLESSED  LORD. 


109 


ADVENT  MEDITATIONS. 
I. 

THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS  IN  THE  BOSOM  OF 
THE  ETERNAL  FATHER. 

I.  His  Eternal  Generation. 

1.  Infinitely  noble. 

2.  Infinitely  pure. 

3.  Eternal. 

4.  Unspeakable  and  incomprehensible. 

II.  His  residence  in  the  Bosom  of  the  Father. 

1.  His  sojourn  there. 

2.  His  going  forth. 

3.  His  sojourn  among  men. 

III.  His  Divinity. 

1.  His  union  with  the  Father. 

2.  His  equality. 

3.  His  independence.  • 

IV.  The  mutual  love  of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

1.  Their  conversation. 

2.  Their  love. 

3.  The  fruit  of  their  love,  the  Holy  Ghost. 

V.  The  eternal  plan  of  the  Incarnation. 
1.  The  fall  foreknown. 

Ill 


112  PART  II. 

2.  The  exclusion  of  the  angels  from  the  remedy  of 

the  Incarnation. 

3.  The  choice  of  the  Word  of  His  Sacred  Humanity. 

VI.  His  eternal  choice  of  sufferings. 

1.  Of  the  sufferings  of  His  whole  life. 

2.  Of  His  Death. 

3.  Of  the  Cross  in  particular. 

VII.  The  Predestination  of  His  Mother. 

1.  His  choice  of  her. 

2.  That  choice  the  source  of  her  greatness. 

3.  That  choice  the  source  of  her  graces. 

4.  That  choice  the  source  of  her  crosses. 

THE   LIFE  OP  JESUS   IN   THE  WOMB   OF  MARY, 

VIII.  He  begins  a  new  life  in  her  womb. 

1.  Infinitely  precious. 

2.  Infinitely  pure. 

3.  All  for  us  and  at  our  disposal. 

IX.  His  beatitude  from  the  first  moment. 

1.  It  was  from  the  first  moment. 

2.  He  was  the  first  of  all  the  blessed. 

3.  He  obtains  beatitude  for  us. 

X.  His  clear  view  of  God  from  the  first  moment. 

1.  The  first  Man  who  enjoyed  it. 

2.  The  only  one  in  this  life. 

3.  More  clearly  than  all  men  and  angels. 

XI.  His  first  act  of  love. 

1.  The  most  perfect  act  which  has  been  or  can  be. 

2.  Extended  to  all  the  works  of  God. 

3.  And  ardently  to  all  men. 

XII.  Ineffable  joy  from  the  first  moment. 
1.  His  soul's  joy  in  His  Divinity. 


THE  SACEED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      113 

2.  His  joy  in  infusing  graces  into  Mary. 

3.  His  joy  in  destining  graces  for  each  one  of  us  in 

particular. 

XIII.  His  adoration  of  the  Father  from   the  first 

moment. 

1.  Humble    submission   as   to   the   creator  of   His 

Sacred  Humanity. 

2.  Profound   reverence  from  His  view  of  the  per- 

fections of  the  Father. 

3.  Worship  from  a  sense  of  the  nothingness  of  His 

soul. 

XIV.  His  praise  of  God  from  the  first  moment. 

1.  By  the  affections  of  His  Sacred  Heart. 

2.  By  His  works. 

3.  By  exciting  His  Mother's  Heart  to  join  with 

Him. 

XV.  He  thanks  God  from  the  first  moment. 

1.  His  Soul  for  the  Hypostatic  Union. 

2.  For  all  benefits  received  at  that  moment. 

3.  For  all  blessings  to  all  creatures,  past  or  to  come. 

XVI.  His  union  of  Viator  and  Comprehensor. 

1.  The  state  of  Viator  a  violence  to  the  Son  of  God. 

2.  A  voluntary  violence. 

3.  Love  unites  these  incompatible  states. 

XVII.  Oblation  of  Himself  to  the  Eternal  Father. 

1.  Offers  the  graces  that  instant  received. 

2.  Offers  Himself  without  reserve. 

3.  And  for  everything. 

4.  And  with  purity  of  oblation. 

XVIII.  His  compassion  for  our  miseries  at  that  moment. 

1.  General  pity. 

2.  For  sin,  our  greatest  misery. 

3.  For  our  sins  in  particular. 

Vol.  I.  H 


114  PART  II. 

XIX.  Takes  our  sins  upon  Him  from  that  moment. 

1.  Takes  the  burden  with  love. 

2.  Embraces  sufferings  needful. 

3.  Takes  the  Cross. from  His  Father's  Hands. 

XX.  Works  for  the  glory  of  God  and  our  salvation 

from  that  moment. 

1.  Begins  His  work  that  instant. 

2.  With  fervor. 

3.  Continues  it  with  constancy. 

XXI.  Begins  to  merit  from  that  moment. 

1.  His  perfect  freedom. 

2.  Infinite  merits. 

3.  Each  action  infinitely  meritorious. 

XXII.  The  desires  with  which  He  inspired  Mary. 

1.  To  give  Him  to  men. 

2.  To  see  Him  with  her  eyes. 

3.  To  serve  Him  as  her  Son  and  her  God. 


II. 
CHRISTMAS  DAY. 

Love  must  be  to  us  instead  of  mind,  and  heart,  and 
spirit,  in  order  that  we  may  understand  and  feel,  ana 
worship  the   mystery  of  the   cry  of  the  Infant   God 
breaking  the  silence  of  the  winter's  midnight  at  Beth- 
lehem.    And  what  was  it  first  of  all  that  the  angels 
sang?      Glory  to  God  in  the  highest.      This   is  the 
temper  in  which  we  must  keep  our  feast. 
I.  God's  glory  the  first  thought. 
1.  To  look  out  for  it  was  the  habit  of  their  blessed 
spirits. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       115 

2.  So  also  must  it  be  ours. 

3.  We  lose  half  the  joy  of  feasts  by  thinking  only 

of  ourselves. 

II.  But  God's  glory  is  the  same  as  man's  happiness. 

1 .  How  touching  and  how  beautiful  is  this  thought ! 

2.  Hew  intensely  it  ought  to  make  us  love  God,  Who 

is  so  mixed  up  with  His  creatures. 

3.  What  a  lesson  it  teaches  of  trustful  submission  to 

His  Will. 

III.  And  God's  glory  in  the*highest  is  in  His  humilia- 

tions in  the  lowest. 

1.  This  is  the  grand  character  of  Jesus,  and  of  all 

His  mysteries. 

2.  The  discernment  of  the  angels  saw  the  immense 

glory  of  His  humiliation. 

3.  As  it  was  our  Master's  glory,  so  is  it  ours. 

IV.  Now  enter  the  cave. 

1.  The  shepherds,  humble  men,  adoring  their  new- 

born King  in  humble  simplicity. 

2.  Joseph,  overwhelmed  with  pious  humility  as  foster- 

father. 

3.  Mary  had  won  the  Incarnation  by  humility ;  so 

now  who  shall  tell  how  she  abased  herself. 

4.  On  that  wisp  of  straw  the  Everlasting  God ! 

Oh,  my  dear  Brethren,  we  think  too  well  of  ourselves. 
We  are  less  happy  than  we  should  be,  because  we  are 
ess  humble.  We  do  not  advance,  because  \ve  do  not 
keep  ourselves  down.  We  do  not  love  God  as  we 
desire,  because  we  do  not  despise  ourselves.  Oh,  it  is 
so  delightful  a  thing  to  be  humble,  so  full  of  joy,  and 
peace,  and  love:  let  it  be  our  practice  now.  It  is  a 
devotion  in  which  we  can  make  no  mistake,  in  which 
we  can  never  go  too  far.  Let  us  keep  to  the  side  of 


116  PART  IT. 

our  Infant  Lord,  and  sink  with  Him  out  of  the  sight 
of  men  and  of  self,  into  those  depths  of  dear  humility 
which  will  gently  leave  us  at  the  last,  not  in  the  pov- 
erty of  Bethlehem,  but  in  the  boundless  riches  of  our 
Heavenly  Father's  house  above. 


ill. 
CHRISTMAS    DAY. 

FOR  THE    CHILDREN. 

Bethlehem  is  more  wonderful  than  a  fairy  tale. 
The  persons  in  the  cave. 

I.  Jesus. 

1.  Eternal  God :  so  disguised. 

2.  Beauty  of  His  Body  and  Soul. 

3.  He  saw  this  chapel  of  His  foster-father,  and  longed 

for  our  little  love. 

II.  Mary. 

1.  No  other  of  God's  creatures  is  like  her. 

2.  The  uuutterableness  of  her  joy. 

3.  She  is  our  own  Mother,  and  it  is  part  of  her  joy 

to  be  so. 

III.  Joseph. 

1.  Joy  of  God  in  the  love  of  His  Son — this  was  St. 

Joseph's  joy. 

2.  His  familiarities  with  Jesus. 

3.  His  love  of  all  children  for  the  sake  of  Jesus. 

IV.  Shepherds. 

1.  Simple-hearted  and  very  reverent. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       117 

2.  Jesus  thought  of  them  first. 

3.  What  they  must  have  felt  when  they  heard  the 

angels  sing. 
V.  The  Wise  Men. 

1.  Nobody  wise  but  those  who  come  to  Jesus. 

2.  We  must  give  Him  our  best  when  we  come  to 

Him. 

3.  But,  oh !  what  will  not  He  give  us  in  return  ? 
Love  each  other — let  the  houses  love  each  other — 

you  shall  both  be  together,  happy,  peaceful,  bright,  at 
the  feet  of  our  dearest  Jesus  for  ever ! 


IV. 
NEW  YEAR'S  EVE. 

I.  The  view  which  the  saints  take  of  the  world  as 
a  howling  wilderness  compared  with  the  view 
ordinarily  good  men  take  of  it :  the  latter  view 
stated. 

1.  The  pleasure   in   living,   especially   if  we  have 

health. 

2.  The  pleasure  of  doing  good,  and  being  kind  to 

others. 

3.  The  pleasure  of  relationship  and  love. 

4.  The  pleasure  of  earth's  sunshine,  and  the  world's 

pastimes,  especially  society. 

5.  The  pleasure  of  sorrow,  when  it  is  blunted. 

6.  The  pleasure  of  past  adventures,  and  of  memory. 

7.  The  pleasure  of  the  dead  we  possess  as  ours  in 

another  state. 


118  PART  II. 

II.  If  to   ordinarily  good   men    the    world   is  such, 

wherein  does  it  fail  ? 

1.  In  not  keeping  its  promises. 

2.  In  not  coming  up  to  its  own  standard. 

3.  In  its  continual  changing. 

4.  In  having  nothing  to  satisfy  an   interior  want, 

whose  hunger  increases  as  the  soul  loves  God 
more  and  more. 

III.  The  Rest  and  the  Soul. 

1.  What  we  thought  last  New  Year's  Eve,  and  how 

we  have  been  balked. 

2.  Have  we  the  heart  to  ask  no  more  of  the  coming 

year? 

3.  "What  our  soul  is  and  what  its  destinies  are. 

4.  The  world  at  its  best  estate  compared  with  the 

soul. 

5.  What  it  is  to  be  from  home — we  have  never  seen 

our  home. 

6.  Our  home  is  in   the  Bosom  of  God,  amid  the 

assemblage  of  His  Attributes. 

7.  The  Infant  Jesus  was  at  home  as  soon  as  He 

was  conceived :  Mary's  lap — the  Bosom  of  the 

Eternal  Father. 

He  starts  His  Years — so  let  us  start  ours — and 
with  Him — and  keep  close  by  the  side  of  our  Elder 
Brother:  but  what  of  the  past?  Aye,  what  of  the 
past?  Let  us  go  to  Mary,  and  ask  her  what  we  are  to 
do  with  that.  To-morrow  our  Brother  sheds  blood  for 
the  first  time;  let  us  go  to  the  temple,  and  ask  to  be 
touched  with  it,  and  like  a  lightning  flash  the  past  is 
done  away ! 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       119 

V. 
THE  EPIPHANY. 

No  history  in  the  Gospel  more  strange,  more  singular, 
or  more  apart. 

Lesson. — God  will  lead  the  most  unlikely  people  in 
the  most  unlikely  ways  to  Jesus,  rather  than  that  they 
should  miss  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 

Yet  though  so  singular  a  mystery,  there  is  none 
which  describes  more  faithfully  what  has  happened  or 
will  happen  to  every  one  of  ourselves. 
I.  We  are  to  be  led  to  Jesus,  the  end  of  our  creation : 
how  sweetly  our  Father  cares  for  each  of  us. 

II.  We  were  unlikely  people;   alas!   who   more   un- 

likely ? 

III.  We  were  afar  off;  oh  yes  :  how  very  far — by  sin, 

by  coldness,  by  ignorance,  by  relapses. 

IV.  We  were  led   in   unlikely  ways — look  back  on 

life — how  strange  is  all  that  God  has  done — and 
how  plain,  when  we  are  far  enough  off  to  get  a 
good  view  of  it !  Yet  all  in  one  way,  which  is 
the  true  faith. 

V.  What  is  all  life  but  stars  of  Bethlehem  ?  this  is  the 

meaning  of  everything. 

1.  Every  sorrow  is  a  star  to  lead  us  to  Jesus. 

2.  Every  joy  is  a  star  to  lead  us  to  Jesus. 

3.  Every  change  in  life  is  a  star  to  lead  us  to  Jesus. 
This  is  the  simple  view  of  life :  what  is  life  without 

God,  without  Jesus?  How  it  passes  away  in  joy; 
how  it  lingers  in  sorrow ;  how  perilous,  how  anxious, 
how  doubtful  it  is  when  it  comes  to  end  in  death! 


120  PART  IL 

Oh  !  poor,  poor  life  of  man  !  it  means  nothing  but  one 
only  thing — Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,  the  Son 
of  Mary,  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem  ! 


VI. 

THE  EPIPHANY  THE  FEAST  OF 
CONVERTS. 

The  Three  Kings  the  first  fruits  of  the  Gentiles — 
glory  of  the  wideness  of  the  Church.  Epiphany  a  time 
of  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  the  whole  world ;  also 
a  time  for  those  who  have  had  the  grace  of  conversion 
to  reflect  upon  the  past. 

Parallel  between  the  kings  and  converts. 
I.  The  life  of  the  kings  before  they  saw  the  star, 
seeking  the  true  God  among  the  starlit  rocks 
of  Arabia,  and  by  the  shores  of  its  melancholy 
murmuring  sea ;  seeking  yet  uncertain ;  trying 
to  attach  themselves  to  their  home,  and  rest 
there,  and  yet  God  would  not  let  them. 

II.  The  star  rises — they  hardly  know  why  they  trust 

it — but  their  heart  tells  them  to  follow :  it  is 
but  a  star,  and  yet  so  little :  a  glimmer — those 
who  love  them  blame  and  wonder,  expostu- 
late and  weep — yet  for  them  the  glimmer  is 
enough. 

III.  They   lose    it — in    Jerusalem — in    crowds — even 

when  so  near :  yet  enquiry  is  quickened  by  the 
very  withdrawing  of  the  light. 

IV.  They  had  false  counsel  given — to  go  back  and 


THE  SACSED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       121 

tell :  now,  they  must  first  mind  their  own  souls, 
and  go  home  another  way. 

V.  The  star  comes  out  again,  and  stands  over  Bethle- 

hem— over  Jesus  and  Mary :  they  hardly  know 
whether  it  is  the  Mother  or  the  Son  they  saw 
first. 

VI.  They  were,  for  the  most  part,  allowed  the  kiss  of 

Jesus — sensible  sweetness,  or  undoubting  faith, 
or  heaven  awhile  made  plain. 

VII.  They  had  to  offer  the  costliness  of  affections,  of 

worldly  goods,  and  of  sufferings  both  inward 
and  outward — gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh. 

VIII.  Now,  what  is  left  but  that  their  lives  must  be 

lives  of  faith  ? 

The  great  grace  of  conversion  is  enough  for  them 
to  feed  upon :  that  one  first  sight  of  Jesus  and  Mary 
is  a  living  vision  in  their  hearts,  and  onward  they  go, 
into  the  unfading  light  of  that  more  perfect  vision, 
whose  truth  and  beauty,  satisfying  joy  and  deep  tran- 
quillity, abide  for  evermore. 


VII. 
THE  EPIPHANY. 

The  mystery  narrated  in  detail. 

I.  The  three  kings  an  example  of  faith  in  their  long 
journey.  How  much  more  sure  are  we :  yet  how 
do  we  act  ? 

1.  In  coming  to  mass. 

2.  In  coming  to  confession. 


122  PART  II. 

3.  In  putting  ourselves  out  of  the  way  in  coming  to 
Benediction. 

II.  Their  journey  a  pattern  of  the  pilgrimage  of  life. 

1.  In  constant  change,  letting  us  have  no  abiding 

home. 

2.  In  dangers  and  difficulties. 

3.  In  disappointments,  as  when  we  lose  our  star. 

4.  But  our  end  is  the  same — Jesus. 

5.  And  we  have  a  better  star — even  Mary. 

III.  What  did  they  do  all  this  for,  and  consider  them- 

selves well  paid  by  ? 

One  sight  of  Jesus,  one  kissing  of  His  little  Feet, 
one  look,  one  conversation  with  Mary — and  they  waited 
patiently  thirty-three  years  for  baptism,  and  shed  their 
blood  in  martyrdom,  so  deep  had  the  loveliness  of  the 
Infant  Jesus  passed  into  their  souls.  We  have  not 
kissed  His  feet  once  only,  but  even  received  His  Blood 
in  penance,  Himself  in  communion — how  many,  many 
times — and  an  eternal  vision  of  Jesus  before  us !  Ah ! 
see  the  difference  between  those  who  love,  and  those 
who  love  not,  my  dearest  children  !  Oh  why  will  you 
not  love  Jesus  more?  Is  life  so  sweet,  is  earth  so 
peaceful,  that  you  need  no  better  home,  no  dearer 
friends  ?  You  know  how  you  look  lovingly,  and  yearn 
over  your  little  babes  when  you  rock  them  to  sleep 
in  their  little  cradles — so  take  the  Infant  Jesus  into 
your  hearts,  let  every  beating  of  your  hearts  be  like 
the  rocking  of  His  cradle ;  let  no  rude  word,  no  rough 
oath,  no  loud  immodest  word  awaken  the  sleeping 
Babe  ;  let  no  angry  tempers,  or  evil  deeds,  cause  Him 
to  cry  with  pain  when  He  awakes.  Mary  will  come 
and  teach  you  how  to  be  a  mother  to  her  little  Jesus, 
in  sweetness,  and  humility,  and  chastity :  and  oh  the 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       123 

thought  that  He  of  whom  we  speak  so  lightly,  and 
so  playfully,  this  pretty  Babe,  is  none  other  than  our 
God! 


VIII. 
.  FEAST  OF  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS. 

The  Name  of  Jesus — (1.)  the  greatest  power  on 
earth — (2.)  the  greatest  miracle — (3.)  the  greatest 
happiness — (4.)  the  greatest  attraction — (5.)  the  most 
common  of  all  the  Divine  Mercies.  What  the  name 
means :  Thou  shalt  call  His  Name  Jesus,  for  He  shall 
save  His  people  from  their  sins. 
I.  Without  Him  there  could  be  no  salvation. 

1.  Men  could  do  nothing  with  all  their  penances  and 

.  sufferings. 

2.  Nor  angels  with  all  their  merits  and  holiness. 

3.  God  wills  to  do  it  only  through  Him. 

4.  The  misery  of  the  earth  without  Jesus. 

II.  With  Him  is  "  copious  redemption." 

1.  The  faith  of  the  Church. 

2.  The  abundance  of  grace. 

3.  The  abundance  of  the  sacraments. 

III.  With  Him  salvation  is  easy. 

1 .  The  little  he  requires  from  us. 

2.  The  facilities  of  pardon. 

3.  His  own  interests  in  our  salvation. 

IV.  The  whole  is  done  by  Him. 

1.  He  is  beforehand  with  us  in   Baptism   and   in 

grace. 

2.  Our  merits  are  all  by  His  grace. 


124  PART  n. 

3.  He  gives  us  His  own  merits  besides. 

4.  Our  perseverance  is  His  own  gift. 

V.  How  He  has  been  a  Saviour  to  each  one  of  us. 

1.  His  knowledge  and  love  of  us  in  His  thirty-three 

years. 

2.  The  time   past  of  our  lives,  full  of  mercies  and 

graces. 

3.  The  time  present  all  is  from  Him. 

4.  The  time  of  death  will  be  His  choosing,  and  the 

best  for  us. 

5.  All  our  future  glory  is  from  Him. 

And  all  this  is  ours  for  a  little  generous  love : 
nay,  He  seems  to  count  Himself  as  under  some 
obligation  to  us  if  we  will  only  accept  it.  Let  His 
name  then  be  our  tower  in  which  we  dwell,  a  safe 
refuge,  a  happy  home ! 


IX. 


DEVOTIONS  FOR  THOSE  WHO  WISH  TO 
LEAD  AN  INTERIOR  LIFE. 

IN  HONOR  OF  THE  EIGHTEEN   HIDDEN  YEARS 
OF  JESUS. 

I.  To  the  silent  eternity  of  bliss  which  God  enjoyed 
before  He  created  anything,  in  order  to  gain 
detachment  from  creatures. 

II.  To  the  nine  months  of  Jesus  in  the  womb  of 
Mary,  to  impetrate  a  love  of  the  hidden 
life. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       125 

III.  To  the  agony  in  the  garden,  to  irapetrate  forti- 

tude in  interior  pains,  and  in  repugnances 
•in  prayer. 

IV.  To  the  life  of  Mary  in  the  house  of  St.  John, 

to  impetrate  continual  recollection  of  Jesus 
and  union  with  God. 

V.  To  the  holy  Angels,  especially  our  own  guar- 
dian, to  impetrate  the  union  of  inward  recol- 
lection with  outward  duties. 
VI.  To  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  to  impetrate  the 

grace  of  holy  abjection. 

VII.  To  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  the  minister  of  the  mar- 
riage of  our  souls  with  Jesus. 

VIII.  To  the  souls  in  purgatory,  to  impetrate  con- 
formity in  suffering. 

IX.  To  St.  Joseph,  to  impetrate  interior  peace. 
X.  To  St.  Philip,  for  the  gift  of  tears,  and  tender- 
ness at  mass. 

XI.  To  St.  Ignatius,  for  the  love  of  concealment. 
XII.  To  St.  Teresa,  for  the  gift  of  mental  prayer. 

XIII.  To  the  interior  life  of  Jesus,  to  obtain  a  thirst 

for  the  glory  of  God. 

XIV.  To  the  priesthood  of  Jesus,  to  obtain  the  spirit 

of  sacrifice. 
XV.  To  the  infancy  of  Jesus,  for  simplicity  and  a 

love  of  helplessness. 
XVI.  To  St.  Paul,  for  a  special  devotion   to  the 

Eternal  Father. 
XVII.  To  St.  John,  fox  a  devotion  to  the  Sacred 

Heart. 

XVIII.  To  St.  Clare  of  Montefalco,  to  obtain  a  special 
devotion  to  the  mystery  of  the  most  Adorable 
Trinity. 


126  PART  II. 


THE  PERSON  OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 

Now  this  is  eternal  life  :  that  they  may  know  Thee, 
the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  Thou  hast 
sent.  St.  John  xvii.  3. 

I.  Beginning  of  Lent,  troubled  clouds  of  past  sin, 
penance,  &c.  —  now  amid  the  clouds  comes  out 
clearly  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  He  Whose 
Passion  we  are  called  upon  to  commemorate. 
II.  No  mathematical  God  —  idea  —  or  form  of  words  — 
but  a  living  Person,  two  Natures  —  this  is  the 
solid  of  Catholic  devotion  :  all  else  is  from  this 
—  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  —  Real  Presence  —  feasts 
of  the  year. 

III.  The  one  grand  object  of  the  Church  is  to  make 

the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ  better  known  and 
better  loved1  in  a  forgetful  world;  this  in  its 
measure  presses  upon  every  Catholic  of  every 
age,  rank,  or  ability. 

IV.  Now,  in  Lent,  we  have  also  to  reconcile  ourselves 

to  Him,  or  to  engage  ourselves  more  deeply  in 
His  service,  or  to  pledge  ourselves  more  solemnly 
to  Him. 

V.  What  sort  of  a  Person  was  He?  (1.)  A  Child 
flying  to  Egypt.  (2.)  Sitting  at  the  well  of 
Jacob.  (3.)  Refusing,  to  accuse  the  adulteress. 
(4.)  Defending  the  Magdalen.  (5.)  Trying  even 
in  the  garden  to  save  Judas.  (6.)  Father,  for- 
give them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do. 
(7.)  Feed  My  lambs. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       127 

Wonder  that  men  do  not  love  Him !  Look  at  what 
He  has  done  for  you  in  past  life :  we,  when  we  grow 
old,  weary  of  sin :  He  wearies  not  in  pardoning. 
Come  then,  give  Him  a  Palm-Sunday  entry  into  your 
hearts — and  while  the  thrones  of  the  ancient  earth 
are  tottering,  enthrone  Him  more  firmly,  more  honor- 
ably, aye,  and  above  all,  more  lovingly  than  ever,  as 
King  over  you,  over  all  you  are  and  all  you  have,  and 
all  you  can  suffer  for  His  sake.  Oh,  what  a  day  will 
Easter-day  be,  if  thereon  you  solemnize  the  coronation 
of  our  dearest  Jesus  in  your  hearts ! 


XI. 
OUR  LORD'S  CHOICE  OF  POVERTY. 

The  Holy  Ghost  was  called  Pater  Pauperum:  so 
were  the  saints  also :  so  was  Jesus :  love  of  the  poor 
is  a  characteristic  of  true  holiness,  as  well  as  of  the 
true  Church.  The  poor  you  have  always  with  you, 
but  Me  you  have  not  always.  This  shows  how  com- 
pletely they  came  to  occupy  His  place,  even  more  than 
direct  texts. 
I.  The  choice  of  Jesus. 

1.  He  being  the  Eternal  Wisdom,  chose  poverty. 

(1)  As  the  state  fittest  for  His  great  end. 

(2)  As  the  one   in   which   He  could   raise   His 

Sacred  Humanity  to  heights  of  Holiness. 

2.  How  consistently  He  kept  to  His  choice  through 

the  three  and  thirty  years. 


128  PART  IT. 

3.  How  it  satisfied  the  longings  of  His  Sacred  Heart 

and  His  Divine  Compassion. 

4.  The  result  of  this  fact  that  Jesus  chose  poverty 

is  that  the  poor  are  made  authentically  the 
favorites  of  God. 

5.  Hence  in  the  Church. 

(1)  Voluntary  poverty,  and 

(2)  Sacrifice  for  the  poor. 

II.  The  blessed  effects  of  this  choice  of  Jesus,  to  all, 

rich  as  well  as  poor. 

1.  The  abundance  of  holy  charity  and  liberality. 

2.  It  rebukes  the  spirit  of  the  world  in  us,  and  so 

raises  us  to  perfection. 

3.  It  likens  us  to  the  Sacred  Heart,  and  so  makes  us 

dear  to  God. 

III.  Consolations  of  the  poor :  for  there  is  no  dignity 

or  poetry  about  poverty,  as  about  other  suffering. 

1.  God  has  been  a  poor  man — tried  it  all — scant 

food,  hard  lying,  trust  in  alms,  labor:  those 
that  are  sick  even  have  no  such  consolation: 
many  an  evening  darkened  in — where  was  He 
to  lodge  ? 

2.  Not  wrong  to  feel,  and  feel  keenly,  the  privations 

of  poverty. 

3.  New  and  supernatural  motives  for  patience,  sup- 

plied by  the  choice  of  Jesus. 

What  then  is  your  riches?  The  Sacred  Heart  of 
Jesus.  What  have  you  but  love  of  God  ?  How  foolish 
not  to  take  what  is  yours!  What  have  you  else  to 
make  you  happy  ?  O  blessed  Poverty,  if  it  drives  you 
into  the  Sacred  Heart — this  is  its  one  blessing,  in  which 
are  all  blessings.  Forfeit  this,  and  you  are  the  dull 
thing  the  world  pronounces  you  to  be. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      129 

XII. 

/  ___^_.- 

POVERTY  THE  CHOICE  OF  JESUS.*" 

<• 

I.  Discontent  of  a  poor  man — his  comparison  of  his 
fortune  with  that  of  the  rich  and  noble — the  ill 
temper  which  results  from  that  comparison — the 
childishness  and  uselessness  of  it  all. 

II.  Let  him  turn  his  thoughts  another  way. 

1.  Jesus  was  God,  and  might  by  His  power  have 

chosen  any  state — yet  He  chose  poverty. 

2.  He  was  infinite  wisdom — yet  He  chose  poverty. 

3.  He  came  to  do  His  Father's  work,  as  we  do :  and 

He  chose  poverty. 

4.  He  chose  it  of  the  hardest  and  most  continual  sort. 

Comparison  between  His  poverty,  and  the  com- 
forts of  poor  men  in  general. 

5.  The  love  He  bore  to  the  poverty  He  had  chosen. 

III.  Privileges  of  the  poor. 

1.  Absence  of  temptation. 

2.  Penance  for  sin. 

3.  Special  promises  of  the  Gospel. 

4.  Easy  deathbed — so  little  to  part  with. 

5.  Companionship  of  Jesus. 

However  dark  your  way  may  seem,  however  multi- 
plied your  hardships  and  your  woes,  you  are  what 
Jesus  chose  to  be,  and  is  not  that  fortune  enough  to 
make  you  richer  than  all  this  poor  perishing  world 
can  give  ? 


VOL.  L 


130  PART  IT. 

XIII. 
OUK  LORD'S  PRAYER. 

Many  things  about  our  Lord  are  wonderful — none 
more  wonderful  than  His  prayer. 
I.  What  prayer  was  in  Him. 

1.  It  combined  all  the  eminences  of  His  soul. 

2.  It  was   the   abundance  of  the  treasures  of  the 

Sacred  Heart. 

3.  It  met  and  saluted  all  the  Divine  Perfections. 

4.  It  did   to   each   of  those   perfections   what  was 

necessary  for  us. 

5.  Its  thanksgiving,  intercession,  and  congratulation 

mysteriously  peculiar. 

6.  It  was  the  prayer  of  true  Man. 

7.  It  was  by  an  awful  mystery  the  prayer  of  true 

God. 

II.  Characteristics  of  His  prayer. 

1.  Lifelong. 

2.  Principle  of  all  He  did. 

3.  Recorded  ways  and  times. 

4.  Its  efficacy. 

5.  Its  lastingness  in  the  Church.     . 

6.  Its  privacy — public  only  once. 

7.  Intense  reverence  of  it — He  was  heard  because 

He  feared. 

III.  Our  Practice. 

1.  The  thing  most  needed  to  imitate  in  Jesus. 

2.  The  thing  most  perfectly  imitable. 

3.  The  best  prophecy  of  our  final  perseverance. 

4.  The  most  sure  relief  from  present  difficulties. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       131 

5.  Prayer  brings  all  other  holiness  along  with  it. 

6.  It  is  like  nothing  else  in  the  world. 

7.  But  a  life  of  prayer  is  the  only  true  prayer. 

No  prayer  is  unheard,  none  is  wasted,  there  is  none 
that  we  shall  not  meet  again  in  the  world  to  come.  Oh 
when  we  die,  how  bitterly  shall  we  mourn  that  we  have 
prayed  so  little,  prayed  to  negligently ;  ah !  we  shall 
see  then  that  life  was  hardly  life,  when  it  was  not  also 
prayer ! 


XIV. 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  JESUS  BEING  THOUGHT 
MAD. 

I.  The  Mystery  of  the  Eternal  Word  being  thought 
mad. 

1.  As  the  Passion  is  a  marvellous  disclosure  of  the 

creature's  treatment  of  the  Creator,  so  is  this 
mystery  of  the  look  which  the  Creator  when 
visible  had  to  His  creatures.  The  Passion  dis- 
closes their  will,  and  this  mystery  their  under- 
standing. 

2.  It  was  a  witness  borne  to  His  ways  being  above 

our  comprehension. 

3.  It  was  a  terrific  measurement  of  the  distance  which 

the  world  had  drifted  from  Him. 

4.  It  should   be  a  continual  subject  of  trembling 

sorrow,  and  of  frequent  acts  of  the  most  tender 
and  respectful  reparation. 

5.  And  it  was,  of  all  the  Three  Persons  the  Eternal 

Wisdom  who  was  thought  mad  ! 


132  PART  II. 

II.  The  lessons  to  be  learned  from  this  mystery. 

1.  The  world,  even  the  good  and  kind  .part  of  it,  does 

not  comprehend  supernatural  principles — it  was 
His  own  who  laid  hands  on  Him. 

2.  It  is  the  cross  which  the  world  cannot  take  into  its 

calculations,  and  so  blunders. 

3.  How  hidden  must  Jesus  have  been — so  then  also 

must  we  be ! 

4.  How  this  mystery  is  realized  in  the  saints :  this  is 

half  the  wisdom  of  the  Gospel — we  should  lay 
it  to  heart,  and  make  it  thoroughly  our  own  ! 

5.  What  a  contempt  it  ought  to  give  us  for  the  world 

— so  foolish  in  its  wisdom  that  it  thought  its  God 
mad :  one  trembles  to  say  the  words :  surely  the 
very  angels  invisibly  shrink  around  us. 
Oh  adorable  foolishness  of  God !  how  shall  we  wor- 
ship our  own  honor  and  reputation,  when  He  so  anni- 
hilated Himself,  and  stripped  Himself  of  His  ?     So  let 
us  be  thought  mad : — 

(1)  In  our  faith  by  heretics. 

(2)  In  our  holiness,  even  by  our  own  people. 

O  Jesus !  dearest  Lord !  give  us  the  heart  which  was 
in  our  father  St.  Philip,  the  heart  not  to  be  wise  with 
men,  but  to  be  mad  with  Thee ;  and  of  the  world  too 
we  have  one  thing  to  ask  which  it  will  not  be  slow  to 
give,  that  as  it  made  wild  sport  with  Thee  in  the  court 
of  Herod's  house,  so  it  may  for  Thy  dear  sake  make 
sanctifying  sport  of  us. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       133 

XV. 

THE  WEARINESS  OF  JESUS  AT  THE 
WELL. 

I.  The  Creature  would  desire  to  see — to  have  a  long 

steadfast  undazzled  look  at  the  Creator  of  all  this 
Universe — to  look — to  learn  to  love — to  worship : 
look  at  Jesus  sitting  on  the  broken  wall  of  Jacob's 
Well :  He  made  that  cold  sparkling  water  far 
down,  and  now  He  asks  it  of  His  sinful  creature : 
the  weariness  of  God  made  Man  ;  awe-spiring  yet 
consoling  also. 

II.  Weariness  of  Jesus. 

1.  With  our  sin  and  ingratitude. 

2.  With  His  own  toils  for  us. 

3.  With  the  fervor  of  His  love,  which  parched  Him 

on  the  Cross. 

III.  Consolation  for  us. 

1.  As  sanctifying  our  toils  for  Him,  even  our  bodily 

fatigues,  and  the  aching  of  the  sleepless  head, 
the  throbbing  of  the  footsore  limb. 

2.  As  showing  how  he  forget  Self  to  save  a  soul, 

whereas  she   left  her  picture  and  went  to  the 
city  forgetting  His  thirst. 

3.  As  rule  and  model  for  us  in  trying   to  convert 

others. 

He  made,  I  say,  that  cold  sparkling  water  far  down, 
and  now  He  asks  it  of  His  sinful  creature :  so  it  is  in 
all  things :  He  gives  us  hearts,  He  gives  springs  of  love 
to  flow  there  as  into  a  well,  He  sits  and  looks  down 
with  a  sweet  thirsty  envy,  and  we  will  not  give  Him 
drink! 


134  PART  II. 

XVI. 
EASTER  SUNDAY. 

The   three  points  of  the  world  at  the  midnight  of 
Easter  were  the  Soul  of  Jesus  in  Limbus,  the  Body 
of  Jesus  in  the  tomb,  the  Mother  of  Jesus  in  the  house 
of  John. 
I.  The  Soul  of  Jesus  in  Limbus. 

1.  Enjoying  as  it  ever  had  done  the  Beatific  Vision. 

2.  Imparting  it  to  others,  and  so  making  Paradise. 

3.  Freed  from  the  interior  agonies  of  the  Passion. 

4.  Delighting  in  its  present  conquests  of  grace. 

5.  Still  full  to  overflowing  of  love  for  men. 

II.  The  Body  of  Jesus  in  the  tomb. 

1.  The  silence  around  the  tomb. 

2.  The  angels  watching. 

3.  The  guards  sleeping. 

4.  The  seal  set  upon  the  stone. 

5.  The  adorable  Body  in  its  grave-clothes,  all  seamed 

with  wounds. 

III.  Mary  in  the  House  of  John. 

1.  Her  dolors  accomplished,  as  well  as  His  Passion. 

2.  She  is  supporting  the  apostles. 

3.  She  watches  in  prayer,  as  at  the  Annunciation. 

4.  Her  Heart  holds  the  Faith  of  the  whole  Church 

in  it. 

5.  She  keeps  adoring  the  Body   and  the  Soul   of 

Jesus  in  spirit. 

IV.  The  Mystery  of  the  Resurrection. 

1.  The  angels  collect  the  Precious  Blood,  and  wor- 
ship it. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       135 

2.  The  soul  of  Jesus  comes  to  the  tomb,  and  enters. 

3.  The  retinue  of  angels  and   Souls  that  are  with 

Him. 

4.  He  opens  the  tomb,  and  discloses  His  Body,  point- 

ing out  the  Wounds. 

5.  Adam  and  Eve,  Abraham,  Moses,  David,  St.  Joseph, 

the  Baptist,  and  the  rest  adore  it. 

6.  The  grave-clothes  are  unfastened,   and   laid   in 

order  on  one  side. 

7.  Jesus  by  His  power  as  God,  and  at  the  word  of 

the  Father,  resumes  His  Body  with  the  Blood. 

8.  Its  instantaneous  life  and  beauty ;   yet  retention 

of  the  Five  Wounds. 

9.  Just  as  the  light  dawned  upon  the  hill-tops,  He 

with  His  retinue  enters  His  Mother's  room,  and 
strengthening  her  heart,  He  shows  her  His  ever- 
lasting Godhead,  the  surpassing  beauty  of  the 
Person  of  the  Eternal  Word. 

Thus  it  was,  O  beautiful   consummation !  that  He 
who  died  for  our  sins,  rose  again  for  our  justification. 


XVII. 
THE  VICTORY  OF  THE  RESURRECTION. 

The  hour  of  weakness  and  of  suffering  was  past — 
the  triumph  come — the  dawn  of  the  morning  was  the 
time — to  the  eyes  of  Mary  first  of  all  the  victory  was 
proclaimed.  Emancipation  proclaimed  to  a  whole 
nation  of  slaves,  what  it  would  be  like !  The  resurrec- 


136  PART  II. 

tion  was  the  emancipation  of  the  world.     The  slavery 
of  men  —  the  slavery  of  Jesus  in  His  Passion  —  here 
it  ended.     Easter  dawn   is   come,  and  with   it  man's 
victory. 
I.  Victory  of  the  Flesh. 

1.  Its  weakness,  pains,  ignominies. 

2.  The  prison  house  of  the  soul,  almost  forcing  it  to 

sin. 

3.  The  veil  that  blinds  our  eyes,  and  darkens  us. 

4.  The  glory,  beauty,  power,  brightness,  new  self  of 

the  resurrection. 

II.  Victory  over  sin. 

1.  Sin  has  done  its  worst  to  Jeeus. 

2.  Sin  does  its  worst  to  us. 

3.  Sin  separates  body  and  soul. 

4.  Resurrection  the  reunion  of  the  two  for  glory. 

III.  Victory  over  death. 

1.  The  empire  of  death. 

2.  The  cowardice  with  which  men  crouched  under  it. 

3.  How  faith  comes  and  sets  us  free  from  this  das- 

tardly bondage. 

The  extreme  beauty  of  a  disembodied  soul  in  a  state 
of  grace — its  return  as  a  conqueror  to  reanimate  the 
body — God's  care  of  the  precious  particles  of  the  body 
for  that  great  day  —  the  entry  of  the  soul  into  it  — 
heralded  by  angels  into  the  Presence  of  the  Face  of 
God! 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      137 

XVIII. 
THE  EASTER  JOY  OF  JESUS. 

I.  There  are  no  marks  of  the  Crown  of  Thorns  upon 

His  brow — yet  He  looks  more  than  ever  a  King ! 
The  placid  sunrise  is  beautiful,  but  there  is  not 
half  so  much  quiet  beauty  about  it  as  reigns  over 
that  incredibly  sweet  face.  What  maturity  and 
yet  what  youth  !  Oh  look  into  His  eyes,  what  a 
depth  of  love,  what  a  tenderness  of  love,  yet  what 
an  overwhelming  power  of  love.  That  smile  upon 
His  lips,  so  royal  and  yet  so  wonderfully  familiar, 
how  human  it  is  in  its  gentle  winning  gravity. 
What  a  light  of  unspeakable  expression  shines 
over  His  whole  face,  glows  like  sunshine  on  His 
beautiful  Hair,  and  runs  down  like  an  unction 
into  His  comely  beard ! 

II.  But  He  must  not  speak :  if  He  speaks  our  hearts 

will  break  with  love.  It  is  true  He  will  speak  to 
us  the  very  first  time  we  see  Him  :  but  He  must 
not  speak  now.  Jesus  Risen !  What  think  you  ? 
Is  that  beauty  the  old  beauty  of  dear  Bethlehem  ? 
or  is  it  the  look  of  the  boy  at  Nazareth  ?  or  the 
sweetness  of  the  preacher  and  miracle-worker  of 
Galilee  ?  It  is  all  of  them  and  it  is  none  of  them. 
It  is  something  of  its  own.  Somehow  the  Human 
Soul  fills  all  the  features  marvellously  with  a 
most  human  loveliness;  and  yet  His  Divinity 
shines  through  with  a  masterful  majesty,  and 
with  a  gladness  so  bright  that  it  makes  us  wor- 
ship to  look  at  it. 


138  PART  II. 

III.  I  interpret  His  Easter  look  to  be  an  immense  joy 

— human  joy  carried  to  its  utmost  limit — the  joy 
of  His  Godhead  made  visible  by  His  Human 
Soul  overflowing  His  Glorified  Body  with  an 
incomparable  jubilee. 

IV.  His  Easter  joy  was  one  of  a  constellation  of  His 

joys — let  us  think  of  them. 

1.  His  joy  at  the  moment  of  the  Incarnation. 

(1)  His  delight  in  the  worship  of  God   at   that 

moment. 

(2)  His  delight  in  His  Body  and  Soul. 

(3)  His   delight    in  the    sweet    sanctity   of  His 

Mother. 

2.  His  joy  at  His  first  sight  of  Mary. 

(1)  He  gazes,  and  reads  each  feature ;  rejoices  in 

His  likeness  to  Her. 

(2)  She  was  His  own  creature. 

(3)  He  exulted  in  Her  ecstatic  delight  at  seeing 
Him. 

3.  His  joy  at  her  first  Communion. 

(1)  Like  the  Incarnation  over  again. 

(2)  The  graces  He  found  in  her,  and  the  new 

ones  he  gave. 

(3)  The  joy  of  her  joy  at  this   fresh   ineffable 

union. 

These  three  joys  met  now,  were  all  blended,  and 
were  surpassed  by  the  Easter  joy. 

4.  His  joy  in  seeing  her  now ;  Mary,  so  familiar  with 

all  His  old  beauty,  is  struck  with  His  Easter 
brightness  and  loveliness. 

(1)  The  joy  to  His  human  eyesight,  as  if  long 
years  had  parted  them,  such  vast  mysteries 
had  they  both  traversed. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       139 

(2)  Her  fresh  beauty  from  her  dolors. 

(3)  His  ecstacy  in  filling  each  abyss  her  woes  had 

made  in  her  heart,  with  fresh  love  and  grace. 
V.  Dearest  Lord !  He  had  yet  another  Easter  joy !  He 
thought  of  us  and  of  our  salvation,  of  each  one  of 
us  by  name  and  look :  He  will  have  it  over  again 
when  we  see  Him  first ;  it  is  little,  yet  nothing  is 
little  to  Him,  nothing  little  to  love,  while  nothing 
of  His  is  little  to  our  exceeding  littleness — to  Him 
and  to  us  it  will  be  like  His  first  apparition  to 
His  Mother. 

1.  His  joy  at  this  particular  judgment  in  passing  a 

favorable  sentence. 

2.  His  joy  in  being  our  Redeemer. 

3.  His  joy  in  His  mother's  gladness  at  our  salvation. 

4.  His  joy  in  the  beauty  and  sweetness  of  our  souls. 

5.  His  joy  in  our  unutterable  joy. 

Oh  Easter  is  a  happy  day :  but  I  think  our  true 
Easter  will  not  be  till  we  look  that  first  time  on  the 
beautiful  welcome  of  His  Easter  Face. 


XIX. 

DIES  QUAM  FECIT  DOMINUS. 

Can  there  be  light  after  such  a  darkness?  Can 
there  be  day  after  such  a  night,  peace  after  the  death 
of  God,  joy  after  the  passion  of  our  dearest  Lord  ? 
What  is  Easter  like?  Like  the  beginning  of  eternity, 
like  the  dawn  of  God's  endless  day !  Easter  has 
come  with  its  thousand  thoughts,  its  thousand  doctrines, 


140  PART  If. 

its  thousand  graces :  how  can  the  Church  express  it? 
With  that  sublime  simplicity,  with  that  artlessness  of 
a  child  which  is  close  upon  the  wisdom  of  an  angel, 
she  sums  it  all  up  in  one  word — Hcec  dies  quam  fecit 
Dominus — This  is  the  day  which  the  Lord  hath  made. 
I.  Quam  fecit  Dominus. 

1.  This  is  the  one  joy   of  all   things  —  that   God 

made  them. 

2.  It  is  our  joy  that  we  are  created  by  God  and  by 

such  a  God. 

3.  So  we  congratulate  all  creatures  that  they  have 

the  happiness  of  having  been  made  by  God. 

4.  But  He  makes  some  things  specially,  and  keeps 

a  special  royalty  over  them. 

5.  Easter  Sunday  is  one  of  these  things. 

II.  But  did  He  not  make  all  days,  and  cause  all  suns 

to  shine  ?  Oh  yes !  but  never  a  day  like  this — 
the  sunrise  of  the  Everlasting  Saviour ! 

1.  Because  from  it  comes  the  blessing  of  all  days. 

2.  Because  the  glory  of  Jesus  was  so  infinitely  dear 

to  the  Father. 

3.  Because  He  is  the  true  sunshine  of  the  earth. 

4.  And  His  glorified  body  the  sun  and   moon  of 

Heaven. 

5.  And  He  is  a  sun  who  has  no   setting — oh  the 

joy  of  this  to  us !  He  is  a  day  which  is  all 
morning,  fresh,  pure,  grateful,  full  of  sweet 
light  and  of  sweet  odors. 

III.  The  Resurrection. 

1.  The  sun  is  not  yet  above  the  hills:  in  the  pearly 
dawn  we  see  St.  Mary  Magdalen  looking  down 
into  the  sepulchre  :  why  does  her  face  shine  so 
brightly  if  the  sun  is  not  risen?  It  is  from 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      141 

the  two  angels  in  white  sitting  in  the  sepulchre : 
how  her  tears  glistened  in  the  light ! 

2.  Dear  loving  Magdalen !  is  it  the  memory  of  the 

Passion  that  makes  her  weep?  The  angels, 
beaming  with  gladness,  say,  Woman !  why 
weepest  thou  ?  Who  has  any  right  to  weep  at 
Easter?  Because  they  have  taken  away  my 
Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid 
Him.  Earth  without  Jesus !  no !  that  could 
not  be.  So  Jesus  had  said  about  her  brother 
Lazarus — Where  have  you  laid  him  ? 

3.  When  she  had  thus  said,  she  turned  herself  back, 

and  saw  Jesus  standing,  and  she  knew  not  that 
it  was  Jesus.  Did  she  not  feel,  or  was  she  so 
engrossed  in  seeking  Jesus  ?  Her  eye  was  full 
of  that  wounded  Body  on  the  Cross.  She 
turned  herself  back — what  were  even  angels 
when  she  was  seeking  Jesus?  Jesus,  as  if  to 
have  time  to  drink  in  her  fond  faithful  love,  as 
if  it  was  so  great  an  Easter  joy  to  Him,  saith  to 
her  in  a  feigned  voice,  Woman,  why  weepest 
thou  ?  whom  seekest  thou  ?  O  dearest  Lord ! 
thus  to  play  with  her  grief  and  love,  to  ask 
Thy  servant  such  a  question  —  whom  seekest 
thou,  as  if  Magdalen  could  seek  any  but  Thee. 
She,  thinking  it  was  the  gardener — poor  Mary ! 
truly  He  was  the  gardener — the  gardener  who 
had  once  planted  the  paradise  of  old — saith  to 
Him,  Sir,  if  thou  hast  taken  Him  hence,  tell 
me  where  thou  hast  laid  Him :  and  I  will  take 
Him  away.  What!  in  thine  arms  like  a  child, 
Mary  ?  as  thy  great  namesake  carried  Him  at 
Bethlehem  and  in  the  Wilderness  ?  I  will  take 


142  PAET II. 

Him  away — oh  beautiful — as  if  He  was  hers,  as 
if  He  should  not  be  a  charge  to  any  one  but 
her,  as  if  she  was  hostess  of  Jesus  by  office,  now 
and  for  ever.  Then  she  seemingly  turned  her 
face  to  the  sepulchre.  Did  not  the  empty  sep- 
ulchre remind  her  of  His  words  to  Martha,  her 
sister,  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life  ?  If 
any  word  is  like  the  last  trumpet  of  the  arch- 
angel it  is  Ego  sum  resurredio  et  vita. 

4..  Jesus  saith  to  her,  behind  her,  in  that  voice, 
Mary.  Does  she  live,  or  has  that  one  word 
broken  her  heart  with  the  abruptness  of  its 
jubilee?  She  turning,  oh  with  what  speed, 
with  what  surprise,  with  what  unmanageable 
ecstasy  of  love,  said,  Rabboni,  which  is  to  say, 
Master.  Oh  in  the  long  history  of  the  world 
how  many  sweet  surprises  has  love  contrived 
for  love — but  was  there  ever  any  one  half  so 
sweet  as  this  ? 

5.  Joy  says  short  words  and  few  ones.  Her  beau- 
tiful bright  face  may  have  told  the  apostles 
all  when  she  met  them,  for  her  face  had  been 
sad  enough  for  days  past ;  but  as  for  her  tongue, 
she  could  only  say — I  have  seen  the  Lord !  and 
these  things  He  said  to  me.  Oh  happy,  happy 
Mary !  help  us  to  our  Heavenly  Easter,  to  that 
morning  when  Jesus  our  Judge  will  have  spoken 
a  few  words  to  us ;  it  is  only  a  few  years  distant 
now,  and  then  we  can  come  to  thee  in  Heaven, 
and  repeat  thy  simple  but  all-sufficient  words, 
I  have  seen  the  Lord,  and  these  things  He  said 
to  me. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       143 


XX. 

THE  RESURRECTION  A  MYSTERY  OF 

CALMNESS. 

The  peace  around  the  tomb — the  peace  of  Mary's 
desolation :  we  almost  fear  lest  the  notes  of  holy 
triumph  should  break  a  spell  so  sweet,  so  calm,,  so 
heavenly,  so  beautiful ;  for  peace  is  more  like  God  than 
anything  else  on  earth. 
I.  The  Mystery  of  the  Resurrection. 

1.  The  sunrise  a  type   of  its  exceeding   calm,  its 

tranquil  glory  and  effulgence ;  light  makes  no 
noise. 

2.  The  soul  of  Jesus,  not  fluttered,  not  elated. 

3.  Calm   adoration   of  the   souls  by  which   He   is 

accompanied. 

4.  Calmness  of  the  Adorable   Body  lying  separate 

in  the  tomb. 

5.  Calmness  of  the  Body  and  Soul  in  their  joyous 

union :  witness  the  grave-clothes,  and  the  rolled 
stone,  and  the  sleeping  guards  all  un  wakened. 

6.  Calmness   of  the  bodies  of  the  dead  which  rose 

and  walked  the  streets. 

7.  Calmness    of    His    immense    and    unperturbed 

Divinity. 

How  unlike  the  world  is  all  this ! 
II.  Peace  and  calm  the  gift,  the  special  foremost  gift 

of  Jesus  Risen. 
1.  Exemplified  in  His  apparition  to  His  Mother  at 

the  dawn. 


144  PART  II. 

2.  To  Magdalen  He  reveals  Himself  gradually,  so 

as  to  leave  her  calm,  and  by  His  voice,  which 
stilled  the  seas. 

3.  To  the  disciples  going  to  Emmaus. 

4.  On  Easter  evening  to  the  disciples — Pax  vobis — 

breath,  priesthood  of  peace  and  calm. 

5.  On    Low    Sunday   to    St.    Thomas — Pax    vobis 

again. 

6.  This  peace  displayed  in  the  subsequent  conduct 

of  the  apostles. 

7.  Persevered  in  by  our  dear  Lord  all  the  forty  days. 
III.  All  this  because  He  was  God,  for  God  is  the  God 

of  calmness  and  peace. 

1.  The  unworldliness  of  it  all  in  itself  is  a  proof  of 

His  Divinity. 

2.  Calmness  is  His  spirit,  and  a  token  to  us  how  far 

that  spirit  is  on  us. 

3.  Calmness  of  God  in  His  Incomprehensible  Self. 

4.  Unutterable  calmness  round  about  His  throne. 

5.  Into   that   calmness   we   are   day  by   day  being 

drawn,  by  prayer,  by  sacraments,  by  the  silent 
stealing  away  of  life  from  under  our  feet. 
O   heavenly   Jerusalem,   city  of  light   and   of  the 
Lamb,  our  true  home,  our  real  country,  when  will  our 
exiled  spirits  pass  from  all  this  sound  and  noise  and 
fatiguing  distraction,  into  that  joyous,  boundless,  endless 
peace  of  God  of  which  the  great  apostle  himself  can 
only  say  that  it  surpasses  all  our  understanding? 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       145 


XXI. 

SUNDAY  WITHIN  THE  OCTAVE  OF 
CORPUS  CHRISTI. 

I.  One  of  the  greatest  surprises  at  our  judgment  will 

be  the  sight  of  what  we  might  have  done  for  God 
and  have  not  done. 

1.  Natural  talents  unused. 

2.  Graces  neglected. 

3.  Inspirations  slighted  or  culpably  unheard. 

4.  Opportunities   wasted,   and    supernatural    provi- 

dences unperceived  through  want  of  a  sense 
of  the  presence  of  God :  amazing  loss  of  souls 
through  idleness  alone. 

5.  Faith  not  converted  into  practice. 

II.  God  the  opposite  of  all  this. 

1.  Full  of  the  most  considerate  love  of  us. 

2.  Minute  in  His  legislation  and  arrangement  for  us. 

3.  Marvellously  faithful  to  His  promises. 

4.  Economical,  even  while  abundant,  in  His  giving 

of  grace. 

5.  Setting  an  immense  value  Himself  on  the  least 

of  His  graces,  because  it  cost  His  Son  so 
much. 

III.  Example  of  all  this  in  the  mystery  of  the  Blessed 

Sacrament. 

1.  The  wonder  of  the  Mass,  yet  our  infrequency  and 

indevotion. 

2.  The  miracles  of  communion,  yet  the  little  change 

they  make  in  us. 
Vol.  I.  K 


146  PART  II. 

3.  The  potency  of  Benediction,  yet  how  cold,  how 

uninfluenced  are  our  hearts. 

4.  The  facility  and  opportunity  of  His  presence  in 

the  Tabernacle,  yet  how  unused,  or  how  little 
used,  or  how  badly  used. 

5.  The  reiteration  of  all  these  things  makes  our  life 

an  almost  incomprehensible  miracle :  and  yet  we 
perversely  manage  to  make  it  trivial,  common- 
place, childish,  and  undivine. 

Yet  Jesus  is  not  a  little  grace!  He  is  the  eternal 
riches  of  the  Father.  He  has  been  His  Father's  fasci- 
nation and  delight  from  all  eternity.  He  has  been  the 
gladness,  the  glory,  and  the  most  dear  treasure  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  from  all  eternity,  as  He  is  at  this  hour. 
His  own  delight,  oh  unspeakable,  unintelligible  taste 
of  a  Divine  Person !  is  to  be  with  the  children  of  men — 
and  we  treat  Him  as  we  do!  The  Father  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  follow  Him  to  the  altars  of  the  Church, 
while  He  comes  to  satisfy  His  insatiable  longing  for 
human  love  by  haunting  the  company  of  men.  And 
we  meanwhile  ?  Do  we  lavish  our  riches  on  Him,  give 
Him  our  time,  put  Him  foremost  among  our  occu- 
pations? Do  we  lavish  our  love  even  upon  Him,  our 
reverence,  or  our  fear  ?  A  Catholic  without  enthu- 
siasm for  the  Blessed  Sacrament!  Oh  what  manner 
of  Judas  is  he?  Ah,  my  brethren,  you  know,  each  of 
you  in  your  hearts,  how  you  treat  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment. Jesus  does  not  look  you  visibly  in  the  face 
now ;  He  shrouds  His  face  in  the  white  veils  of  His 
dear  Sacrament.  But  if  we  saw  His  look,  would  it 
not  be  a  look  of  reproachful  sadness?  Oh,  can  you 
not  picture  to  yourself  the  piercing  look  of  tenderest 
reproof  which  He  will  cast  upon  us,  as  He  reminds  us 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       147 

of  all  this  at  the  judgment  ?  Truly  if  we  go  straight 
to  heaven,  it  will  be  no  little  purgatory  to  pass  into 
the  gates  of  the  Golden  City  under  that  dear  and 
intolerable  look! 


XXII. 

THE  LENT  EXPOSITION  OF  THE 
BLESSED  SACRAMENT. 

The  days  of  pilgrimage  and  sanctuary,  with  all  their 
peculiar  graces,  are  renewed  in  the  Exposition  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  But  no  sanctuary  is  equal  in  the 
spiritual  magnificence  of  a  real  .presence  to  the  Catholic 
altar.  Let  us  then  prepare  for  this  great  gift  by 
renewing  our  faith  in  the  presence  of  our  dearest  Lord. 
Who  is  it  that  comes  to  us  ?  Who  is  the  Blessed  Sac- 
rament, who  this  Guest,  upon  whose  created  robes  of 
childlike  white  we  are  to  gaze  ? 
I.  It  is  our  Creator. 

1.  The  immensity  of  the  world — the  wisdom  required 

to  plan  it — the  power  to  put  it  into  execution. 

2.  The  end  of  all  creation  was  His  own   glory  in 

obtaining  our  love. 

3.  He  knows   our  weaknesses — He  has   known   us 

from    all    eternity — He    seeks    our    love — He 
values  it  above  ten  thousand  stars. 
Think  of  Him  during  the  seven  days — think  of  Him 
when  choosing  our  souls  out  of  possible  souls — think 
of  Him  burning  the  world  up  at  the  last,  and  saving 
not  our  souls  only,  but  our  bodies  also,  from  the  con- 
flagration. 


148  PART  II. 

II.  It  is  the  Son  of  Mary. 

1.  Of  like  nature  with  us,  not  the  less  the  Creator, 

though  part  of  His  own  creation. 

2.  All  Bethlehem,  and  Nazareth,  and  Calvary,  are 

there — the  memories  are  in  His  soul — the 
wounds  are  in  His  hands. 

3.  We  had  a  place  in  that  Sacred  Heart  during  the 

agony,  we  have  a  place  there  now — He  woos  us 
to  enter  more  deeply  in. 

We  are  men  met  together  to  worship  our  fellow-man, 
who  is  our  God  as  well. 
III.  It  is  the  Eternal. 

1.  He  is  coming  who  never  had  any  beginning,  who 

leans  on  none,  has  none  to  lean  upon,  unchange- 
able, and  yet  unspeakably  changed. 

2.  He  loved  us  eternally — there  was  never  a  time 

when  we  did  not  exist  in  His  love :  how  over- 
whelming is  this  thought !  He  loves  each  one 
of  us  in  Church,  and  changes  not,  though  we 
have  done  so  much  to  forfeit  His  exceeding 
love. 

3.  Now  He  desires  to   have  us   to  spend  the  rest 

of  eternity  with  Him — He  comes  to  give  graces 
— for  the  simple  end  of  giving  graces — He  for 
that  object  is  about  to  spend  forty  human  hours 
of  His  long  eternity  in  a  special  way  with  us,  to 
fit  us  for  our  eternity  with  Him. 
Oh  sweet  thought !    Oh  comforting  sustaining  truth  ! 
The  years,  as  they  go  by  so  quietly  and  swiftly,  are 
drawing  us  fast  into  His  eternity,  when  He  will  wel- 
come us  to  His  own  home,  and  press  us  to  His  Heart, 
and  put  aside  His  veils,  and  show  us  His  face,  and  take 
the  sight  of  it  away  from  us  no  more. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      149 

XXIII. 
THE  LENT  QUARANT'  ORE. 

The  business  of  our  sanctification  is  carried  on  by 
two  sorts  of  opportunities,  those  which  we  impose 
upon  or  make  for  ourselves,  and  those  which  the 
Church  in  her  office  as  mother  is  careful  to  supply 
us  with  ;  and  these  last  advance  us  most  because  there 
is  no  self-will  in  them,  and  we  have  the  Benediction 
of  the  Church. 
I.  God's  choice  of  times  and  places. 

1.  This  is  a  feature  in  God's  manner  which  is  very 

much  to  be  observed. 

2.  Old  Testament  examples  of  it. 

3.  Christian  pilgrimages  and  seasons. 

4.  Miraculous  shrines  and  apparitions. 

5.  The  end  of  these  is  not  only  to  confirm  faith,  but 

to  destroy  sin  and  increase  holiness. 

II.  Lent  is  one  of  God's  times. 

1.  Apostolic  institution  :   supernatural  vigor  of  the 

Church  all  the  world  over. 

2.  It  is  far  more  than  the  great  feasts  of  the  year. 

3.  It  is  the  spiritual  rudder  of  the  year. 

4.  Fasting  is  a  means,  prayer  the  end. 

5.  Those  who  cannot  fast  are  the  more  obliged   to 

prayer  and  interior  mortification. 

III.  Church  is  one  of  God's  places,  especially  at  the 

time  of  Exposition. 

1.  Exposition  is  a  substantial   part  of  Lent  now- 

adays. 

2.  More  than  La  Salette,  Loreto,  or  Palestine. 


150  PART  II. 

3.  Angels  are  amazed  at  the  graces  ready,  and  which 

only  need  our  reverent  taking. 

4.  What  one  Exposition  could  do  if  fervently  cor- 

responded to. 

(1.)  For  self.   (2.)  For  the  Church.   (3.)  Robbing 
Hell.     (4.)  Purgatory.    (5.)  Glory  of  heaven. 

5.  Oh  for  fervent  persevering  prayer !  whether  mental 

or  vocal,  with  book  or  without,  what  matters ; 
only  let  us  pour  out  our  whole  souls  in  prayer. 


XXIV. 
THE  SACRED  HEART. 

To-day's  feast  as  refreshing  as  a  cool  wind  in  the 
wilderness. 

Need  of  consolations  in  these  times :  nowhere  to  be 
found  but  in  the  Sacred  Heart. 
I.  The  Sacred  Heart  itself. 

1.  It  is  not  a  mere  emblem. 

2.  But  lives  a  human  life  this  day. 

(1)  In  heaven. 

(2)  In  the  Tabernacle. 

(3)  It  has  been  in  us  at  Communion. 

3.  Its  power,  science,  love,  for  He  is  God. 

4.  The  touchirigness  of  the  devotion. 

5.  And  He  Himself  revealed  it. 
II.  What  it  is  to  us. 

1.  No  other  real  shelter  from  the  world. 

2.  Nor  consolation  in  sorrow. 

3.  Nor  home  so  kind. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       151 

4.  Nor  welcome  so  sure  and  sweet. 

5.  Nor  such  fulness  of  satisfaction. 

6.  Nor  such  abounding  love. 

7.  Nor  such  assurance  of  heaven. 

8.  Nor  such  dear  mercy  when  we  have  fallen. 

9.  Its  maternal  character — Mary-like. 
III.  It  is  so  utterly  our  own. 

1 .  The  empire  we  exercise  over  it  is  like  Mary's. 

2.  The  place,  a  particular  one,  we  have  always  occu- 

pied in  it. 

3.  Its  fidelity,  and  rewarding  of  little  services. 

4.  The  identity  of  its  will  and   interests  with  our 

own. 

5.  Yet  it  is  the  cabinet  of  the  treasures  of  the  God- 

head. 

How  hidden  is  this  treasure !     Comfort  to  us  that  it 
is  hidden  ;  for  the  world  takes  all  from  us  that  it  can. 


XXV. 

THE  SACRED  HEART. 

I  Have  given  them  Thy  word,  and  the  world  hath 
hated  them,  because  they  are  not  of  the  world. — St. 
John  xvii.  ]  4. 

Earth  is  a  rehearsing  for  heaven :  yet  the  world 
forces  us  abroad  ;  it  will  not  let  us  face  God  and  duty 
and  the  thought  of  eternal  things.  It  is  in  this  very 
thing  that  we  must  beat  it  down — be  bold  in  the  love 
of  Jesus — and  assert  our  liberty.  Yet  here  is  the  secret 
of  the  Christian  life.  How  shall  we  be  in  the  world, 


152  PART  II. 

yet  out  of  it,  upon  the  flood  and  riding  safely  on  it,  in 
the  heat,  but  under  shadow  ;  in  the  storm,  yet  sheltered 
from  it?     By  living  in  the  Heart  of  Jesus.     Ah !  let 
us  invoke  the  gentle  St.  John  to  get  us  grace  to  dwell 
continually  as  hermits  in  that  sweet  hermitage,  as  doves 
in  the  cleft  rock,  always  in  charitable  activity,  yet 
always  in  contemplation. — The  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus — 
our  model — our  love — our  sanctuary. 
I.  Its  perpetual  intention": — to  glorify  God — always 
speaking  of  it  in  St.  John's  Gospel — thirsting  after 
it — the  first  great  end  of  the  Sacred  Humanity. 
II.  Its  interior  occupation — (1)  adoring,  (2)  annihi- 
lating self,   (3)   oblation   of  self,  (4)   incessant 
grieving  for  sinners  and  at  them. 

III.  Its  secret  suffering :  a  secret  consuming  tormenting 

fire  caused  by  love  and  sin  from  His  Conception 
to  His  Cross,  only  the  depths  of  that  profound 
abyss  may  be  poorly  fancied  from  the  few  echoes 
that  came  up  to  the  surface  during  the  anguish 
of  the  Passion. 

IV.  Continual   unbroken   calm,  putting  away  of  all 

pleasing  of  self,  and  assuagement,  as  though  He 
were  in  love  with  sorrow  and  interior  bitterness. 
This  is  the  mystery,  this  the  long  lesson  of  the 
Cross. 

V.  Horror  of  maxims  of  the  world — He  was  Eternal 
Wisdom. 

World.       '  Sacred  Heart. 

1.  Esteem  of  greatness     Quod  altum  est  hominibus 

and  glory.  abominatio    est    ante 

Deum. 

2.  Care  of  reputation.      Saturabitur  opprobriis. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       153 

3.  Spirit  of  policy  and     Columbce — parvuli. 

management. 

4.  Attachment  to  wills    Subditus  illis — pleaded  not 

and  ways.  Himself. 

5.  Pursuit  of  pleasures.     United  in  itself  all  body 

and  mind  most  shrink 
from,  and  that  from 
choice. 

6.  Worship  of  comfort    Stable  —  flight  —  poverty 

and  conveniences.  —  hard   work  —  house- 

lessness — benediction  of 
the  poor. 

Ah !  we  have  much  to  learn !  but  shall  we  sit  down  in 
idle  despair? — O  paradise!  bright — beautiful — eternal 
— how  strange  sound  the  words  of  thy  wisdom  on  this 
distracted  earth :  we  have  but  to  love — to  love  Him 
whom  it  is  so  hard  not  to  love,  so  wonderful  all  men  do 
not  love — we  have  but  to  love,  and  all  that  is  ours— 
thy  brightness,  thy  beauty,  thy  eternity.  Oh  false  and 
miserable  and  cruel  world — this  day  we  break  faith 
with  thee,  solemnly  and  forever. 


XXVI. 

PERPETUAL  FRESHNESS  OF  JESUS. 

A  deep  changeableness  in  our  nature — often  against 
our  will — making  things  grow  dull  to  us  easily,  and 
making  it  hard  for  us  to  be  faithful. 
I.  How  even  religious  things  grow  wearisome. 

1.  Prayer,  which  was  once  so  sweet. 


154  PART  II. 

2.  Books,  which  it  seemed  we  could  feed  upon  all 

our  life,  and  never  want  new  ones. 

3.  Services,  so  full  of  unction  to  our  souls. 

4.  Even  sacraments,  so  fresh  and  exhilarating. 

5.  But  Jesus  Himself  never :  He  is  always  fresh. 

II.  The  freshness  of  Jesus. 

1.  He  never  tires  us. 

2.  He  is  always  equally  loving  ; 

3.  Or  rather  each  time  more  loving  than  before. 

4.  Always  the  same,  so  far  as  regards  fidelity. 

5.  Always  new,  so  far  as  regards  His  charms. 

III.  Experience  of  this. 

1.  Christmases:  He  seems  really  newly  come. 

2.  Changes  in  life — He  suits  Himself  to  them. 

3.  Sunshine — He  makes  it  passing  bright. 

4.  Sorrow  !  ah,  He  is  a  new  Jesus,  so  full  of  delight- 

fullest  consolation. 

5.  We  have  left   Him  and   returned — how  do  we 

find   Him  ?      Quite   the  same,   yet    altogether 
new. 

IV.  Experience  of  all  things  else. 

1.  The  world,  its  promises  and  its  fulfilments. 

2.  Our  own  will,  its  plans,  wishes,  enterprises. 

3.  Pleasure,  its  transitory  feverish  excitement. 

4.  Age — always    looking    onward — brings    nothing 

like  Jesus. 

5.  Even  religious  changes — nothing  satisfactory  but 

Jesus. 

And  death — what  think  you  death  will  bring  ?  It 
has  but  one  alternative,  either  everlasting  darkness,  or 
Jesus  to  be  eternally  old,  everlastingly  new,  in  His  own 
bright  land  above. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       155 

XXVII. 
THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS  A  LIFE  OF  LOVE. 

What  it  is  to  love !  and  what  to  lead  a  life  of  love ! 

I.  The  life  of  Jesus  a  life  of  love. 

1.  Love  seemed  to  be  His  very  life — His  whole  life. 

2.  It  was  unintermitting. 

3.  Deeply  hidden,  yet  for  ever  flashing  out. 

4.  It  swallowed  up  all  other  characteristics  of  His 

life. 

II.  His  love's  characteristics. 

1.  Its  utter  disinterestedness. 

2.  Its  propensity  of  self-abasement. 

3.  Its  excesses,  and  its  being  given  to  excess. 

4.  Its  mixed  character  of  human  and  divine. 

5.  Yet  evidently   following   some    deep    laws,   not 

appreciated  or  understood  by  us:  it  reveals 
God  to  us.  For  this  is  the  life  most  like  the 
life  of  God. 

III.  His  loves. 

1.  Of  God. 

2.  Of  His  Mother. 

3.  Of  sinners.     He  seems  to  sacrifice  the  other  two 

to  this,  as  (1.)  My  God!  why  hast  Thou  forsaken 
Me  ?  as  if  He  so  clung  to  men  and  loaded  Him- 
self with  their  guilt,  that  the  Father  was  com- 
pelled to  forsake  Him.  (2.)  Our  Lady,  whom 
He  martyred  for  our  sakes. 

4.  It  is  our  joy  that  we  had  even  then  a  distinct  and 

recognized  share  of  that  love. 
Our  lives  must  be  copies  of  His. 


156  PART  II. 

XXVIII. 
OUK  LORD'S  LOVE  OF  US. 

As  the  Father  hath  loved  Me,  I  also  have  loved 
you. — St.  John  xv.  9. 

Is  there  any  sight  in  all  creation  we  should  so  much 
wish  to  see  as  the  place  we  occupy  at  this  moment  in 
the  Heart  of  Jesus  ?  We  know  that  He  really  loves  us, 
and  immensely  loves  us:  but  how  much,  and  with  what 
kind  of  love?  His  own  words  quoted  above  answer 
this  question.  He  loves  us  as  the  Father  loved  Him. 
I.  Now  how  did  the  Father  love  Him  ? 

1.  He  loved  Him  eternally,  with  an  untiring  love, 

vehement  yet  peaceful,  a  love  that  was  an 
immense  joy  to  Himself,  a  divine  love.  Think 
what  it  is  for  us  to  be  loved  with  a  divine  love ! 

2.  He   loved   Him  with  an  enormous  love,  an  un- 

imaginable love.  It  is  hard  to  picture  an  ocean 
without  a  shore,  or  a  world  without  an  end. 
Yet  this  is  the  figure  of  the  Father's  love  of 
Jesus,  and  therefore  of  the  love  of  Jesus  for  us. 

3.  An  eternal  love,  a  ceaseless  love,  must  necessarily 

be  a  love  of  undistracted  detail ;  so  that  those 
words  of  Blosius  come  true,  "He  would  not  even 
allow  a  cold  wind  to  blow  upon  His  elect,  unless 
He  knew  it  was  expedient  for  their  salvation."  * 

4.  But  the  most  striking  of  all  the  features  of  the 

Father's  love  of  Jesus,  is  that  He  loaded  Him 
with  crosses,  cares,  and  sorrows:  so  will  Jesus 
do  to  us. 

*  Institutio  Spiritualis,  cap.  viii. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       157 

(1)  Because  His  Father  did  so  to  Him. 

(2)  Because  it  is  His  longing  to  conform  us  to 

Himself. 

(3)  Because  it  is  what  is  best  for  our  souls. 
Now,  are  we  prepared  for  this  ?     Do  we  take  this 

view  of  our  troubles  ?   Alas !  to  strive  against  our  cross, 
is  to  try  to  make  Jesus  love  us  less. 


XXIX. 

COME  UNTO  ME,  ALL  YE  THAT  ARE 
WEARY. 

I.  The   intense   happiness   of   Jesus  in  the   Blessed 

Sacrament. 

1.  Because  He  is  God,  Whose  life  is  everlasting  joy. 

2.  Because  of  the  abounding  joys  «of  His  vast  human 

Soul. 

3.  The  intense  pleasures  of  the  senses  of  His  glorified 

Body. 

4.  His  joy  in  His  Mother,  the  angels,  the  saints,  and 

the  Church  on  earth. 

5.  His  joy  in  the  hiding-place  He  has  invented  for 

Himself  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
Why  then  does  He  seek  sinners  as  if  He  needed 
them  ?    Can  we,  or  such  as  we,  be  a  joy  to  Him  ? 

II.  The  life  of  sin.     Have  we  not  all  once  lived  it  ? 

1.  All  we  break  through  to  begin  it — baptism,  grace, 

faith. 

2.  Its  poorness  of  pleasure. 

3.  Its  rapid  satiety. 


158  PART  II. 

4.  Its  discomfort  of  remorse. 

5.  The  chilling  prospect  of  its  consequences. 

III.  The  invitation,  Come  unto  Me,  will  be  some  one 

day  sounded  in  our  ears. 

1.  Can  we  believe  our  senses? 

2.  But  to  such  great  sinners  as  we  are  ? 

3.  If  to  Jew  or  Pagan,  still  can  it  be  to  us  who  have 

fallen  from  Him. 

4.  His  authority  to  speak,  and  His  power  to  fulfil 

His  promise. 

5.  The  proofs  of  His  sincerity  are  in  the   Blessed 

Sacrament — He  has   not  tired   these  eighteen 
hundred  years. 

IV.  The   interview:   Lord!   what   wilt   Thou   that   I 

should  do? 

1.  What  penance? — only  be  sorry. 

2.  What  reproof? — absolutely  none. 

3.  How  long  a  process  is  forgiveness? — momentary. 

4.  What  forfeit  ?i — none. 

5.  As  if  He  was  the  obliged  person,  not  we. 

Is  not  all  this  incredible  except  to  the  strength  of 
faith?  Does  not  it  baffle  all  understanding,  and 
transcend  all  explanation?  It  is  said  of  heaven,  Eye 
hath  not  seen,  &c. ;  is  not  the  same  true  of  the  for- 
giveness of  a  sinner?  It  is  the  first  step  to  heaven, 
an  earnest  that  He  means  to  give  us  heaven,  only  let 
us  hold  fast  and  persevere.  Heaven  will  soon  be 
here;  it  will  steal  upon  us  almost  before  we  are 
aware ;  and  life  with  all  its  trials  will  be  like  a  speck 
in  the  distant  past,  the  memory  of  which  will  be 
almost  forgotten  in  the  beautiful  delights  of  our 
celestial  home.  You  and  I,  brethren,  have  seen  many 
here  in  darkness  and  in  struggle,  in  sin,  in  repentance, 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       159 

in  the  fight  of  poverty,  the  coolness  of  the  world's  neg- 
lect, and  the  achings  of  a  comfortless  and  hard  sick-bed, 
who  now  are  in  the  Bosom  of  Jesus  in  heaven,  so  bright 
and  glorious,  so  radiant  and  beautiful,  that  we  should 
die  if  we  beheld  them.  O  dearest  brethren  !  only  love 
Jesus,  and  what  an  unspeakable  eternity  is  ours. 


XXX. 

THE  TEARS  OF  JESUS.* 

Man  is  never  so  like  God  as  when  he  is  consoling 
the  afflicted ;  and  this  is  one  of  the  functions  of  the 
Confraternity ;  it  reaches  it  by  prayer ;  so  consider — 
I.  The  tears  of  Jesus. 

1.  Angels  beholding  with  wonder  the  first  tears  of 

Adam  and  Eve. 

2.  They  look  up  to  the  Eternal  Word — they  will  one 

day  see  Him  weeping  man's  tears. 

3.  The  tears  of  Bethlehem,  for  Himself,  for  sin,  for 

sorrow,  for  us. 

4.  At  the  grave  of  Lazarus — in  sympathy  with  the 

sorrow  of  the  sisters. 

5.  On  the  Mount  of  Olives  over  beautiful  Jerusalem 

— over  sin  and  sin's  punishments. 
II.  The  lessons  of  those  tears. 
1.  The  nature  of  sorrow. 

(1)  It  is  an  angel  from  God. 

(2)  If  it  is  punishment,  it  is  that  we  may  escape 

punishment  in  another  world. 

*  After  the  battle  of  Inkerman. 


160  PART  II. 

(3)  To  make  our  hearts  soft  aud  gentle  to  others. 

(4)  To  conform  us  to  the  likeness  of  Jesus :  how 

He  loves  those  in  sorrow. 

(5)  Grief  is  no  imperfection  :  tears  of  resignation 

are  sweet  to  the  Eye  of  God. 
2.  More  confidence  in  Jesus. 

(1)  What   confidence  means,  and   how  little  we 

have  when  proved. 

(2)  Sinners,  why  He  loved  them  most  of  all. 

(3)  Littlenesses  and  meannesses  of  spiritual  per- 

sons.    Oh  He  knows  them  so  well  and  feels 
for  them  so  compassionately. 

(4)  We  are  inclined  to  despair  because  of  tempta- 

tions— why,  your  own  mother  will  not  guide 
you  so  gently  as  Jesus  will. 

(5)  The  Name  of  Jesus  is  our  trust — Thou  shalt 

call  His  name  Jesus :  for  He  shall  save  His 
people  from  their  sins. 


XXXI. 

WITHOUT  JESUS  IN  THE  WORLD.* 

I.  My  dear  brethren !  what  should  we  do  without  Jesus 
in  the  world  ?  We  have  to  live,  we  have  to  die, 
we  have  to  be  saved.  Oh  what  should  we  do 
without  Jesus  in  the  world  ?  Dearest  Lord !  you 
see  I  am  going  to  dare  to  speak  of  Him  to  you  in 
His  own  presence. 

*  Lent  Exposition  of  the  B.  Sacrament,  1856. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      161 

1.  In  sorrow  what  should  we  do  without  Jesus? 

2.  In  illness  and  pain  ? 

3.  In  poverty  and  hardships  ? 

4.  In  the  loss  of  those  we  love  ? 

5.  In  the  hour  of  death  ? 

II.  Jesus — because  He  shall  save   His   people  from 
their  sins. 

1.  Look  at  heathen,  what  if  we  were  like  them? 

2.  Look  at  sinners,  what  if  we  were  like  them  ? 

3.  Those  outside  the  Church,  what  if  we  were  like 

them? 

4.  Ourselves  in  past  years,  what  if  we  were  like 

them? 

5.  Without  Jesus,  where  should  we  be  now  ? 

And  can  we  ever  spare  Him — now?   in  death?  in 
judgment?  after  that?  never,  never. 
III.  And  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  our  «wn  very  Jesus. 

1.  The  Jesus  who  loved  the  poor. 

2.  The  Jesus  who  wept  over  His  dead  friend. 

3.  The  Jesus  who  consorted  with  sinners. 

4.  The  Jesus  who  comforted  the  sorrowful. 

5.  The  Jesus  who  feels  more  anxious  that  we  should 

be  saved  than  we  do  ourselves. 
And  what  is  the  Blessed  Sacrament  a  sign  of? 
His  unspeakable  fidelity.  He  yearns  over  us  while 
we  stay  away :  He  implores  us  while  we  ungraciously 
refuse  His  love :  He  clings  to  us  even  in  our  sins  :  He 
longs  to  take  us  in  His  arms,  and  bear  us  away  to 
heaven,  and  to  have  us  with  Himself  for  evermore. 
Our  beloved  Brother !  and  shall  we  refuse  to  go  ?  Oh 
no,  no !  let  us  pour  out  our  hearts  before  Him — let 
us  tell  Him  how  deeply,  how  dearly  we  love  Him — 
let  us  beg  Him  to  save  us  in  spite  of  our  own  selves, 
Vol.  I.  I, 


162  PART  II. 

and  to  make  us  love  Him  more  and  more  a"nd  more, 
and  to  bear  with  us  a  little  longer,  and  we  will  serve 
Him  better,  and  die  in  His  arms,  and  then  go  with 
Him  to  His  Father,  and  be  at  rest  forever. 


XXXII. 

THERE  IS  NOW  THEREFORE  NO  CON- 
DEMNATION  TO  THEM   THAT 
ARE  IN  CHRIST  JESUS. 

Many  words  of  wonderful  beauty  have  been  uttered 
in  the  world  which  have  lived  on  for  generations  like 
music  that  could  not  die — but  few  more  beautiful  than 
this,  which  came  to  St.  Paul  while  making  tents  at 
Corinth,  and  which  he  wrote  to  the  Romans. 
I.  No  condemnation !  Is  not  this  just  what  we  want  ? 

1.  Feeling  of  people  who  are  on  trial,  as  we  arc: 

it  is  just  our  business  as  creatures  to  be  judged. 

2.  Conscience   judges    us    within,    and    the   world 

without :  we  fear  the  stern  truth  of  the  inward 
judge,  and  we  chafe  under  the  invariable  un- 
kindliness  of  the  outward  one :  all  happiness 
and  unhappiness  depend  on  these  judgments. 

3.  But  God,  Who  knows  all,  understands  all,  sees 

the  secret  truth  of  all,  and  is  unutterably  holy. 

4.  To  be  condemned  by  God ;  it  is  very  easy,  very 

likely ;  all  merit  it :  to  know  that  we  should  be 
saved — is  it  not  heaven  beforehand  ? 

5.  Well,  there  is  now  therefore  no  condemnation  to 

them  that  are  iii  Christ  Jesus. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      163 

II.  But  who  are  in  Christ  Jesus? 

1.  Those  who  have  the  true  faith  and  practise  it. 

2.  Those  who  have  a  great  sorrow  for  their  sins. 

3.  Those  who  love  others  for  our  Lord's  sake. 

4.  Those  who  are  trying  to  be  holy  even  if  they  are 

not  so  yet. 

5.  Those  who  wish  to  love  Jesus,  though  they  do  not 

feel  as  if  they  loved  Him  yet. 

Ah,  ray  dear  brethren,  you  may  have  many  years  to 
live  yet ;  many  temptations,  much  unkmdliness,  much 
sorrow,  much  pain,  many  unworthy  and  simple  imper- 
fections ;  but  through  it  all  you  can  truly  keep  saying 
to  yourselves,  as  men  murmur  songs  they  love,  those 
beautiful  song-like  words  of  our  dear  St.  Paul :  There 
is  now  therefore  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in 
Christ  Jesus. 


XXXIII. 

THE  FIRST  SIGHT  OF  THE  FACE  OF 
JESUS. 

Seek  ye  My  Face !  Thy  Face,  Lord,  will  we  seek ! 
What  it  is  to  have  Jesus  with  us ;  how  it  increases  our 
longing  to  see  His  face ;  what  joy  and  light  and  life 
would  that  veiled  Face  pour  into  our  very  inmost 
souls  ! 

I.  Our  first  sight  of  Jesus. 

1.  We  shall  actually  see  Him,  and  it  cannot  now  be 
very  long. 


164  PART  II. 

2.  But  we  must  go  through  grave  and  solemn  things 

to  reach  this  sight. 

3.  St.  Simeon's  long  years  and  then  his  Nunc  Dimitti& 

is  it  a  figure  of  our  lives  ? 

4.  We  must  die,  and  are  daily  nearing  the  time. 

5.  The  more  we  love  God,  the  more  real  must  be  our 

fear  of  death. 

6.  The  act  of  death — the  first  moment  of  the  separate 

soul. 

7.  First  sight  of  Jesus — judgment    begins.     What 

will  our  thoughts  be?  Saints  have  said  they 
should  be  almost  distracted  with  the  sweet- 
ness of  that  first  sight  of  His  Face.  Alas!  I 
shall  tremble,  and  be  first  ashamed,  and  then 
afraid. 
II.  We  lose  sight  of  that  Face  again. 

1.  Judgment  is  over — wherever  we  go,  shall  we  ever 

forget  the  beauty  of  that  Face  ? 

2.  If  to  Purgatory,  it  is  no  light  thing  to  dwell  among 

those  fires. 

3.  The  pain  of  parting  with  that  Face ;  for  long  years 

we  may  perhaps  see  it  no  more. 

4.  And  yet  it  will  haunt  us  like  a  ray  of  light  in  our 

punishment. 

5.  Yet  is  Purgatory  inevitable  ? 

6.  No!     To  avoid  venial  sin,  to  break  with   the 

world,  to  have  an  abiding  sorrow  for  sin,  to  be 
patient — these  are  ways  of  avoiding  Purgatory 
altogether. 

7.  Perhaps  a  particular  devotion  to  the  presence  of 

Jesus  in  the  Blessed   Sacrament  may  have  a 
peculiar  power  to  avoid  or  shorten  Purgatory. 
Oh  let  no  one  be  without  hope  of  escaping  Purgatory. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       165 

It  is  less  hard  than  many  think.  The  punishment 
itself  is  fearful — the  delay  of  being  with  Jesus  is  intol- 
erable to  a  loving  heart.  Oh  after  a  weary  life,  is  there 
still  to  be  another  weary  waiting  for  our  deliverance 
and  our  rest  ?  If  we  must  burn,  let  it  be  with  the  fire 
of  love  now,  not  with  the  fires  of  chastisement  here- 
after! 


part  Second 

THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS. 


SECTION  II. 
THE    PASSION. 


1CT 


I. 

CALVARY* 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  PASSION ;  ITS  HISTORICAL, 
DOCTRINAL,  AND  MYSTICAL  CHARACTER. 

I.  The  darkness  of  an  eclipse — it  gradually  lightens — 
the  white  towers  of  a  city  not  far  inland  at  the 
end  of  the  Mediterranean — slowly  being  disclosed 
against  the  darkness  is  the  Body  of  Jesus  hanging 
on  the  Cross,  facing  the  grand  west,  disfigured  by 
suffering;  and  a  broken-hearted  mother  standing 
beneath  the  Cross  now  wet  with  blood. 

1.  This  is  the  fountain  of  all  supernatural  things, 

and  flows  both  before  and  behind. 

2.  Henceforth  the  history  of  the  world  can  never 

get  from  under  the  influence  of  this. 

3.  The  sorrow   and  happiness  of  each   individual 

soul  starts  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross. 

4.  It  is  the  only  earthly  object  of  any  real  abiding 

value :  all  is  dross  compared  to  it ;   it  is  the 
marriage  of  heaven  and  earth. 

5.  Its  effects  are  eternal  and  unspeakable. 

*  The  twelve  following  chapters  are  the  sketch  of  a  proposed 
treatise. 

169 


170  PART  II. 

II.  The  Passion  considered  as  a  history. 

1.  The  congruous  end  of  the  Thirty-three  Years  of 

the  Incarnate  Word. 

2.  The  Supper  Room. 

3.  The  Garden. 

4.  The  City. 

5.  The  Mount. 

On  earth  we  can  get  no  higher  idea  of  God  than 
that  which  the  Passion  gives  us. 

III.  Considered  as  a  doctrine. 

1.  The  two  Natures  and  the  one  Person. 

2.  The  accomplishment  of  Redemption :  a  different 

idea  from  the  Incarnation — (1.)  Of  glory.  (2.) 
Of  suffering. 

3.  The  Sacraments  come  out  of  it. 

4.  The  daily  sacrifice  is  a  continuation  of  it. 

5.  The    unnecessary    suffering  in  it  an    abyss  of 

divinest  doctrine.  It  is  also  remarkable  that 
our  Lord's  satisfactions  were  not  in  voluntary 
penances,  but  in  things  which  came  on  Him 
through  His  Father's  will — this  is  a  characteristic 
of  His  sanctity — the  consolation  of  it  to  us. 

IV.  Considered  as  affecting  the  ritual  of  the  Church. 

1.  The  Blessed  Sacrament  the  living  Lord. 

2.  The    connection     of     the     Passion     with     the 

Blessed  Sacrament — mass,  communion,  use  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  as  reparation — Holy 
Sepulchre. 

3.  In  the  Calendar — The  Church  nowhere  drama- 

tizes so  much — then  there  are  memorial  feasts 
all  the  year  round. 

4.  As  a  devotion  characterized  by  (1)  Its  abiding- 

ness;    (2)  Universality;    (3)  Connection  with 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       171 

other  devotions ;  (4)  Variety,  Stations,  Wounds, 
Words,  Trials,  Blood,  Dolors. 

5.  The  calm  grave  endless  thought  and  memory  of 
the  Passion  by  angels  and  souls  even  amid  the  . 
joys  of  Heaven. 
V.  Its  mystical  character. 

1.  It  produces  a  whole  inward  life  of  its  own,  on 

peculiar  supernatural  principles. 

2.  To  effect  this  more  abundantly  God  has  poured 

abundant  revelations  of  its  details  into  the 
Church  through  the  contemplative  saints. 

3.  He  has  also  impressed  the  Passion  on  them  in 

physical  and  moral  miracles. 

4.  He  has  strewn  over  the  world  the  instruments 

and  relics  of  the  Passion.  Just  think  what  it 
is  to  be  in  the  same  room  with  a  piece  of  the 
true  Cross. 

5.  All  holiness,  high  and  low,  is  imitation  of  the 

Passion,  while  the  Passion  has  and  communi- 
cates a  substantial  virtue  which  enables  us  to 
imitate  it,  and  exercises  a  mysterious  attraction 
over  us. 

The  fervor  of  the  primitive  Church  was  owing  per- 
haps to  a  livelier  memory  of  the  Passion.  The  days 
of  creation — their  wonders — these  days  were  more 
wonderful,  Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday :  the 
Triduo  of  the  Passion  was  the  creation  of  an  invisible 
world. 


172  PART  II. 

II. 

THE  EXCESS  OF  THE  PASSION. 

The  beauty  of  sorrow — its  poetry,  romance,  philoso- 
phy, and  literature — the  pathos  of  God's  world — none 
like  to  the  Passion — it  is  a  very  world,  the  flowers  of 
suffering  made  beautiful  by  the  innocence  and  also  the 
divinity  of  Him  Who  bore  it :  we  must  get  a  view  of 
its  extent. 

I.  The  Thirty-three  Years  up  to  the  Passion  were  a 
Passion  in  themselves. 

1.  Sufferings   of  the  first   twelve   years  —  poverty, 

weariness,  use  of  reason,  prevision  of  Passion, 
view  of  sin. 

2.  Sufferings  of  the  Hidden  Life — the  same,  with 

toil  and  Joseph's  death. 

3.  Sufferings  of  the  three  years'  Ministry,  homeless- 

ness,  disciples,  persecutions,  fatigue,  failure. 

4.  Steady,  incessant,  vehement,  energetic  view  of  the 

Passion  throughout. 

5.  His  Mother  involved  in  the  same  law  of  suffering, 

although  exempt  from  the  law  of  sin. 
Thus  the  Passion  is  not  one  separate  mystery,  but 

the  blood-stained  diadem  of  all. 
II.  The  Mystery  of  unnecessary  suffering  in  the  Passion. 

1.  Why  it  was  so  long,  and  not  done  all  at  once. 

2.  Infinite  value  of  each  one  of  His  satisfactions. 

3.  Prodigality   of   everything  —  pains    bodily    and 

mental,  shame,  all   exhausted  —  it  is  hard   to 
conceive  of  more. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       173 

4.  It  cannot  have  been  really  unnecessary — this  is 

a  profound  mystery. 

5.  Probable  reasons,  at  least  on  the  surface. 

(1)  Because  being  God,  He  would  do  all  things 

in  the  most  excellent  and  superabundant 
way.  We  do  not  sufficiently  look  at  the 
Passion  on  God's  side.  It  is  a  many-sided 
mystery. 

(2)  In  order  to  make  a  more  royal  satisfaction  to 

the  justice  of  God. 

(3)  To  give  us  a  deeper  -and  more  dread  view  of 

the  horror  of  sin. 

(4)  To   exhibit   the   illimitable    excesses  of   the 

divine  mercy. 

(5)  Because  it  was  all  for  love,  and  of  love. 

(6)  That  God's  glory  in  creation,  and  that  in  the 

Sacred  Humanity  alone,  might  far  surpass 
the  curse  of  sin. 

(7)  To  show  what  manner  of  service  we  should 

render  to  Him,  and  to  take  away  our  hard- 
ness of  heart,  which  nothing  short  of  omni- 
potence can  soften. 
III.  The  Deep  Sea. 

1.  The  number  of  the  sufferings — count  up  from  the 

Garden  to  the  Cross.  The  unknown  sufferings, 
like  the  unknown  perfections  of  God.  There 
is  a  sort  of  secrecy  in  the  Passion :  half  is  not 
told ;  men  could  not  bear  the  details ;  the 
revelations  of  saints  disclose  now  and  then 
these  secret  depths  in  the  Passion. 

2.  The  variety :  every  affection  of  the  heart,  every 

faculty  of  the  mind,  every  sense  and  nerve  of 
the  body. 


174  PART  II. 

3.  Intense    degree   of   them — in    themselves — from 

the  circumstances — and  to  Him. 

4.  Concentration    of   them    in    a    short    time — no 

respite  to  collect  self,  &c. 

5.  Aggravating   circumstances  of  them — site,  time, 

company,  presence  of  mother,  spectators,  and 
their  malice. 

•6.  Inward  circumstances — mental  perturbation  and 
oppression,  shame,  injustice,  view  of  each  kind 
and  class  of  sin  for  which  He  suffered.  " 

7.  The  indifference  of  those  for  whom  He  suffered 

— this  was  unbearable  to  His  Sacred  Heart. 
They  were  inflicting,  and  did  not  know  it,  a 
most  dreadful  outward  Passion  on  One  who  had 
already  an  unspeakable  Passion  within. 

8.  Aggravation  from    those   who   afflicted    Him — 

(1)  Rude  Romans,  (2)  His  own  Jews,  (3)  Powers 
of  Hell,  (4)  Mary,  (5)  Eternal  Father— think 
of  Him  with  these  five  enemies  hemming  Him 
in  in  seeming  appalling  alliance. 

9.  The  horror  of  that  for  which  He  suffered,  viz., 

sin. 

10.  The  love  with   which  He  suffered  was  of  itself 

an  indescribable  martyrdom. 

11.  Augmentation  of  suffering  from  the  exquisiteness 

of  His  Human  Nature. 

12.  Augmentation   of   it   by   His   Divine   Nature — 

(1.)  What  it  withheld,  and  so  contrast.     (2.) 
Strengthening  Him  to  bear.    (3.)  Adding  some- 
thing peculiar  to  each  torture. 
IV.  Results. 

1.  All  martyrdoms  as  nothing  to  His  sufferings 
(against  Suarez). 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       175 

2.  All  human  suffering,  inclusive  of  seven   dolors, 

far  outstripped  by  them. 

3.  In  intensity  they  exceed  all  the  pains  of  purga- 

tory because  of  His  Soul. 

4.  In  sensible  pain  they  possibly  exceed  in  intensity 

all  the  pain  of  the  lost,  and  of  their  bodies  after 
the  resurrection. 

5.  He  Himself  could  of  God's  absolute  power  have 

suffered  more — this  is  all  we  can  say. 

6.  Only  His  Divinity  without  alleviating  any  ena- 

bled Him  to  bear  all. 

7.  We  shall  perhaps  never  understand  them — St. 

Jerome  says  that  what  our  Lord  suffered  on  the 

Thursday  night  will  not  all  be  known  until  the 

doom,  when  the  Father  will  reveal  it  according 

to   the  prophecy  of  Nahum,  Revelabo  cunctis 

regibus  et  geiitibus  ignominiam  tuam. 

What  a  scene!     God  out  in  the  darkness  of  that 

night,  amid  the  mountainous  billows  of  that  storm — 

where  all  humanity  and  all  angelic  nature  would  have 

foundered  and  gone  down :   God !  God !  the   Eternal 

God  !    That  night,  in  that  dark  sea,  with  that  affliction 

and  fatigue,  my  soul  was  saved  ! 


III. 
THE  BODILY  PAINS. 

The  Ecce  Homo  !  a  worm  and  no  man :  His  beauty 
crushed  out  of  Him  :  the  nature  almost  trodden  out  of 
Him  ;  life  held  in  that  mangled  wreck  by  simple  power. 


176  PART  II. 

I.  The  bitterness  of  bodily  pain. 

1.  Our  own  experienced  inability  to  bear  it. 

2.  All  generations  have  made  their  punishments  out 

of  it. 

3.  The  way  in  which  it  afflicts  the  soul. 

4.  The  revolution  it  works  in  our  characters. 

5.  The  amazing  merits  and  crowns  of  martyrdom. 

6.  Purgatory  and  Hell. 

7.  By  this  pain  was  redemption  to  be  effected. 

II.  General  view  of  the  Bodily  Pains  of  the  Passion. 

1.  Their  length — some  eighteen  hours — but  especially 

long  to  the  swift  operations  of  His  Soul. 

2.  Their  variety,  and  their  being  constantly  inter- 

mingled ;  and  all  over  His  Body.  Revelation 
to  the  V.  Paola  Maria  Scalza,  that  the  Wounds 
and  Disfigurements  of  our  Lord's  Body  were 
above  all  that  had  been  said,  written,  or 
thought.  * 

3.  Their  keenness,  from  their  severity  and  rapidity, 

and  from  His  sensitiveness. 

4.  Their  all  being  violently   contemporaneous  one 

with  another. 

5.  Without  respite,  or  refreshment,  or  time  to  collect 

self;  save  only  visit  of  angel  in  the  garden. 

III.  Their  kinds. 

1.  Stunning,  aching  bruises,  Cedron,  up  the  hill,  the 

Via  Dolorosa. 

2.  Stricture  of  ropes. 

3.  Flesh  wounds  down  to  the  bone,  and  all  over. 

4.  Dislocations,  with   ropes,  of  jaws   when   struck, 

and  stretching  on  the  Cross,  and  hanging 
from  it. 

*Vita,  pp.  289,  290. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       177 

5.  Excessive  bleeding — intense   anguish  caused  by 

it,  no  repose  allowed. 

6.  Stabbing  through  nerves  with  thorns  and  nails. 

7.  Flaying,  with  the  two  strippings.- 

8.  Tearing    flesh     off,    as     martyrs     had,    at    the 

scourging. 

9.  Cold,  Cedron,  the  night. 

10.  Fatigue  to  its  uttermost  limit  of  throbbing,  dull, 

seemingly  impossible  pain. 

11.  Hunger  all  those  hours,  and  with  such  nervous 

suffering. 

12.  Thirst  after  the  loss  of  blood. 

N.B.     Breaking  of  bones  and  fire  were  the  only  two 

pains  not  applied. 
IV.  His  Sacred  Limbs. 

1.  Head — blows,  hair,  crowning. 

2.  Eyes — filled  with  clotted  blood,  inverted   lashes 

— blows. 

3.  Mouth — swollen  with  blows,  teeth  loosened,  lips 

cracked,  tongue  swollen. 

4.  Face — blows,   spittings,   thorns    half   down    the 

brow. 

5.  Shoulders — raw   with   scourgings,   laid   open    at 

stripping. 

6.  Arms — ropes,  bruises,  scourges,  out  of  joint. 

7.  Hands — blood  from  under  nails  with  ropes,  nails 

on  the  Cross. 

8.  Breast— torn  with   scourges,  painfully  distended 

to  cracking. 

9.  Sides — bones  laid   bare  with   scourging,  bruised 

and  livid  with  blows  of  staves. 
10.  Knees — broken  with  falls,  skin  hanging  down,  as 

in  various  revelations. 
Vol.  I.  M 


178  PART  II. 

11.  Feet — bleeding,  sore,   nailed,   dislocated,   wrung 

into  unnatural  positions. 

12.  Heart — fever,   anguish,   bursting,   fainting,   irre- 

gular spasms. 

V.  The  instruments  of  His  Passion. 

1.  Ropes. 

2.  Gauntlet. 

3.  Scourges. 

4.  Thorns. 

5.  Reed. 

6.  Spears  to  prick  Him  with  in  the  Via  Crucis. 

7.  Hammer  and  nails. 

VI.  His  five  Blessed  Senses — mixed  bodily  and  mental 

sufferings. 

1.  Hearing. 

Blasphemy — denial — Mary's  sighs — awfulness  of 
the  cries  of  a  crowd. 

2.  Seeing. 

Sin — Mother; — instruments  of  Passion — absence  of 
apostles — wicked  faces. 

3.  Smelling. 

Odors  of  sin,  which  sickened  the  saints — corrup- 
tion of  Golgotha — the  well  on  Thursday  night. 

4.  Tasting. 

Gall,  blood,  mud,  spittle,  hunger,  thirst. 

5.  Touching. 

Scourge,  thorns,  nails,  men's  rude  hands. 

VII.  His  death. 

1.  Not  the  gradual  failing  of  power,  so  as  to  be 

easy. 

2.  The  horror  of  the  position  to  die  in. 

3.  The  combined  unity  of  all  the  pains  mounting  to 

one  head  and  crisis. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       179 

4.  The  loud  cry,  so  unlike  Him. 

5.  It  has  been  said   that  the  greatest  pain  in  the 

Passion  was  the  act  of  death,  because  of  the 
inexplicably  perfect  union  of  His  Body  and 
Soul. 

Oh  the  tranquillity  of  the  Dead  Christ  on  Mary's  lap; 
we  breathe  now,  like  men  just  saved  from  shipwreck, 
after  this  roaring  sea  of  horrors,  which  has  stunned  and 
bewildered  us,  has  gone  in  its  great  ebb  far  down  the 
beach.  This  is  that  sweet  stillness  round  the  tomb, 
that  fatigue  in  tranquil  rest  recovering  its  bruised  heart 
and  scattered  mind,  which  makes  the  peace  of  Holy 
Saturday  almost  a  dearer  gift  than  the  joy  of  Easter. 


IV. 
THE  MENTAL  SUFFERINGS. 

The  feelings  of  Jesus,  when  for  the  last  time,  whatever 
day  it  was,  He  woke  from  sleep  before  His  Passion. 
-I.  The  mystery  of  our  Lord's  sleep. 

1.  Not  suspending  the  use  of  reason,  nor  the  capa- 

bility of  meriting. 

2.  Peopled  with  the  prevision  of  His  Passion. 

3.  Scantily  taken  through  all  the  Three-and-thirty 

Years. 

4.  Yet  a  real  rest  to  His  Sacred  Humanity,  the  more 

so  from  His  sinlessness,  and  perfection  of  Body. 

5.  But  His  waking  was  not  a  gradual  dawning  on 

Him  when  He  cast  off  drowsiness ;  clear  as  an 


180  PART  II. 

Asiatic  landscape,  defined  as  a  Greek  sea-view, 
lay  His  Passion  close  at  hand. 

II.  Mental  sufferings. 

1.  Mind  has  much  greater  capabilities  of  suffering 

than  the  body,  in  variety,  acuteness,  depth,  so 
that  there  is  hardly  any  limit  to  mental  suffering, 
except  physical  death. 

2.  And  by  His  divine  power  that  limit  in  His  own 

case  was  miraculously  thrust  back. 

3.  In   purgatory  and   hell   the  pains  of  sense  are 

incomparably  below  those  of  mind. 

4.  The  way  in  which  apprehension  magnifies  coming 

evils,  and  is  a  more  real  suffering  than  the 
actual  endurance. 

5.  But  who  shall  estimate  rightly  the  capabilities  of 

His  Soul  and  Heart,  or  the  wonderful  torture  of 
wounded  feelings  and  violated  sensibilities  in 
Him? 

III.  The  mental  suffering  of  the  Passion  considered 

generally.    • 

1.  Fear.     Intense  pain  of  it.     (1.)  Foresight.     (2.) 

Faces  of  multitude.  (3.)  Their  cries.  (4.) 
Being  hated.  (5.)  Eternal  Father.  He  was 
like  a  hunted  animal,  yet  was  the  great  God 
omnipotent. 

2.  Horror.     (1.)    Of  the  Passion.     (2.)    From  the 

vision  of  sin.  (3.)  From  the  excesses  of  un- 
appeased  justice. 

3.  Feeling  of  defilement.     (1.)  Clothed  in  all  sins. 

(2.)  Stuck  close  to  Him.  (3.)  Burnt  into  His 
Soul. 

4.  Shame,  as  if  He  would  have  hidden  Himself  in 

nothingness ;  Adam's  shame  was  nothing  to  His. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      181 

5.  Sadness  for  the  lost,  for  all  sinners;  for  all  that  sin 

should  make  any  of  us  suffer. 

6.  Compassion,  for  each  and  all  of  us  in  our-  lost 

state.  St.  Bonaventure  thinks  His  Compassion 
was  a  greater  suffering  than  His  Passion,  not 
only  for  each  soul  lost,  but  for  each  pain  of  the 
elect:  it  was  co-extensive  (1.)  With  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary's  dolors.  (2.)  All  martyrdoms. 
(3.)  All  griefs.  (4.)  All  voluntary  austerities. 
(5.)  All  our  own  private  sorrows  and  pains. 

7.  Love  as  it  were  barbed  and  poisoned  every  shaft 

that  strung  Him. 

IV.  The  Agony  was  the  Crucifixion  of  His  Soul,  and 
may  be  taken  as  a  specimen  of  these  Mental 
Sufferings.  Look  at  the  process  of  the  Agony, 
and  see  how  the  pains  took  possession  of  His 
Soul  progressively  for  three  interminable  hours. 

1.  Fear,  with   its  alarms,   unsettlements,  shadows, 

panics,  chills. 

2.  Disgust,  as  if  it  was  all  so  loathsome  that  He  could 

not  persevere. 

3.  Weariness,  so  that  all  power  to  make  head  against 

the  commonest  sorrow  was  gone. 

4.  Drenching  bitterness,  so  that  He  had  no  vicis- 

situde, no  relief  of  posture  in  His  mind,  no 
refuge  in  Himself,  no  privacy  in  His  own 
Nature. 

5.  Fight  in  His  Human  Nature,  the  novelty  of  it, 

and  the  vehemence. 

6.  Tightness,  or  narrowness,  and  anxiety,  as  if  He 

was  pressed  in  some  spiritual  instrument  of 
torture. 

7.  Desolation,    deep    darkness,    accumulation    and 


182  PART  II. 

acme  of  interior  trials  and  anguishes,  all  void 
and  vast  around  Him,  with  nothing  to  lean 
against. 

8.  Crushing  oppression,  as  if  all  His  faculties  were 

squeezed  into  one  immense  sort  of  suffering. 

9.  Exhaustion,  such   as   would    have   made   death 

sweet,  such  a  mixture  of  restlessness  and  the 
loss  of  all  power  of  exertion. 

10.  Rush   of  love  into   this   wounded   Nature,  like 

drenching  a  wound  in  spirit  or  in  acid ;  it  was 
like  goads.  St.  Bernardine  says  that  the  alter- 
nate charges  of  fear  and  love  against  each  other, 
and  with  all  the  power  of  His  Soul,  caused  the 
Bloody  Sweat. 

11.  Loss  of  blood  and  consequent  increase  of  all  the 

former  mental  tortures  left  a  complete  wreck. 

12.  Aggravating  circumstances.     (1.)  Multiplicity  of 

the  objects  which  distracted  Him.  (2.)  The 
vehemence  of  the  impressions  they  made  on  His 
Soul ;  angels  could  not  have  borne  it.  So  that 
His  Will  seemed  to  totter :  one  angel,  Michael 
or  Gabriel,  comes  to  comfort  Him.  If  Michael, 
can  that  be  the  Word  for  whom  he  fought  in 
heaven  his  grand  battle  ?  if  Gabriel,  he  thinks 
of  Mary  on  Annunciation  night,  the  same  25th 
March. 

V.  The  revelations  to  Battista  Varani  are  like  an 
insight  into  the  character  of  our  Lord,  and  his 
personal  feelings  as  Man ;  this  is  their  special 
beauty. 

1.  First  Dolor.  From  the  view  of  those  who 
should  be  lost  eternally :  like  dislocation  •  of 
limbs — the  eternity  of  the  separation,  quel  mai 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       183 

mi  cruciava:  but  as  separate  from  Him,  their 
torments  after  death  did  not  enter  into  this 
woe. 

2.  Second  Dolor.     From  the  sins  of  the  elect,  and 

all  their  pains,  penances,  persecutions,  and 
temptations.  As  if  He  had  millions  of  eyes, 
and  each  eye  in  the  insupportable  agony  which 
the  eye  can  feel.  As  not  separate  from  Him, 
the  pains  of  purgatory  did  enter  into  this  woe. 

3.  Third  Dolor.   From  His  Mother's  sufferings.   This 

was  the  one  alleviation,  the  only  one  He  did 
crave  for,  that  His  Mother  should  be  exempt 
from  suffering.  With  filial  tenderness  and  many 
tears  did  He  pray  His  Father  for  this.  It  was 
like  all  His  Passion  a  second  time  on  the  crushed 
Soul  and  sore  raw  Body. 

4.  Fourth    Dolor.     From   the  grief  of  Magdalen. 

Except  His  Mother,  none  grieved  as  she.  He 
had  told  John  secrets  which  supported  him. 
John  would  have  crucified  Him  himself  to  get 
the  good  which,  when  leaning  on  his  Master's 
Bosom,  he  learned  was  to  come  from  the  Passion. 
This  upheld  him ;  but  Magdalen  knew  nothing 
of  this.  Heaven  and  earth  seemed  gone  to  her ; 
as  her  glorious  love  wag  without  order  or  meas- 
ure, so  was  her  woe.  This  was  why  He  appeared 
to  her  at  the  Resurrection. 

5.  Fifth  Dolor.    From  the  dismay  and  desolation  of 

His  Apostles  and  disciples.  His  grief  in  His 
last  sermon  to  them  on  Thursday  night. 

6.  Sixth  Dolor.    From  the  treachery  of  Judas,  after 

all  He  had  done  for  him.  "When  I  bent  over 
to  wash  his  feet,  My  long  hair  fell  over  My  face, 


184  PART  n. 

and  when  I  pressed  his  foot  to  My  mouth  and 
kissed  it,  I  bathed  it  a  second  time  with  hot 
tears  of  love." 

7.  Seventh    Dolor.     From   the   ingratitude   of  the 

Jews.  All  the  old  history,  and  -then,  Crucify 
Him,  crucify  Him !  That  Thursday  night  long 
centuries  ago,  the  Exodus  of  the  chosen  people 
from  Egypt,  and  now  the  Exodus  of  all 
Humanity  through  the  dry  bed  of  our  Lord's 
Soul  out  of  the  darkness  of  the  land  of  the 
shadow  of  death. 

8.  Eighth  Dolor.     The  ingratitude  of  all  creatures. 

To  each  of  us  He  has  done  what  He  did  to 
Judas,  to  each  of  us  what  He  did  for  the  Jews, 
and  yet  we  love  Him  as  we  do.  B.  Battista 
Varani,*  when  she  saw  Him  in  such  a  "hell  of 
amorous  pains,"  almost  doubted  His  being  God  : 
but  rather  the  very  excess  of  the  love,  ,o  far 
beyond  either  the  reason  or  romance  of  earthly 
love,  might  have  shown  her  that  it  could  be 
God  alone  who  could  love  in  such  a  way. 


V. 
THE  SHAME. 

Look  at  that  figure  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  the 
unresisting  Captive ;  men  are  pulling  His  beard,  spitting 
in  His  face,  and  kicking  Him,  as  if  they  were  driving 
some  stupid  ox  to  slaughter,  while  then  as  ever  count- 

*  See  Battista's  postscriptum  about  devotion  to  interior  and  to 
exterior  pains,  in  the  French,  life  of  her,  p.  155. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       185 

less  angels,  awe-smitten  and  in  ecstacy  with  the  beauty 
of  His  holiness,  are  singing  Sanctus,  Sanctus,  Sanctus, 
round  His  throne! 
I.  The  Worship  of  the  beautiful  Incarnate  Word. 

1.  In  heaven,  since  the  trial  of  the  angels,  and  all 

through  the  Three-and-thirty  years. 

2.  The  dignity   of  His  Sacred  Humanity,  and  the 

inconceivable  glory  prepared  for  It. 

3.  It  was  both  sun  and  moon  to  the  whole  enormous 

heaven :  one  spark  could  lighten  all  the  earth. 

4.  To  Him  belongs  the  right  of  judging  all  men ; 

He  has  ere  now  judged  the  smiters  and  the 
spitters. 

5.  To  see  Him  is  to  be  happy  eternally :  it  needs  no 

more. 

II.  Phenomenon  of  contempt  of  God. 

1.  It  is  earth's  lowest  depth  of  sin — the  stupidity 

of  earth  is  necessary  to  it — hell  is  t<5o  intelligent 
to  have  it. 

2.  It  combines  hatred  and  indifference  about  God  in 

one  act. 

3.  It  only  comes  out  in  great  sinners ;    and  seems 

to  rise  round  saints,  as  if  their  exceeding  holi- 
ness drew  it  out  of  the  most  pestilential  part  of 
our  corruption. 

4.  In  our  degree  we  all   misjudge  God ;    it  is  the 

grand  grief  of  those  who  love  Him. 

5.  Hell  swallows  up  contempt  in  fear ;  contempt  is 

earth's  own  peculiar  affront  to  God. 

III.  Contempts  and  insults  and  shame  of  the  Thirty- 

three  Years. 

1.  His   poverty  and   obscurity  and  dwelling  place. 
Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ? 


186  PART  II. 

2.  His  wisdom.     Is  a  devil  and  is  mad.     (John  iii.) 

How  doth  this  man  know  letters,  having  never 
learned  ?  (John  vii.)  We  know  God  spoke  to 
Moses,  but  as  to  this  man  we  know  not  from 
whence  He  is.  (John  ix.  29.) 

3.  His  doctrine.     Called  a  Samaritan  and  a  heretic. 

4.  His  power.     His  miracles  were  attributed  to  the 

devil  and  to  magi'c. 

5.  His  innocence.  Called  (1.)  A  sinner.  (2.)  Glutton 

and  wine-bibber  (Matt,  xi.)  (3.)  Seducer  of  the 
people  (Luke  xxiii.)  (4.)  Prevaricator  of  the 
law.  (5.)  Blasphemer  (John  ix.) 

IV.  Shame  and  indignities  of  the  Passion. 

1.  Words — the  opprobrious  acts  doubtless  not  half 

recorded. 

2.  Actions — blows,    kicks,    pulling     hair,    spitting, 

mock  homage,  Ecce  Homo. 

3.  ThougKts — cowardice,  vile  magician,  stupid  fool. 

4.  Manner — Annas,    Caiphas,    Herod,    Pilate,    all 

others:  death  by  crucifixion,  thieves. 

5.  Circumstances — His  triumph  on   Palm  Sunday, 

the  feast  and  multitude. 

6.  From  whom  it  all  came — His  Jews,  those  whom 

He  had  fed  and  healed,  those  who  had  cried 
Hosanna. 

7.  Sheer    barbarities,    hell-inspired     blasphemies — 

scene  at  Herod's  court.* 

V.  What  was  wounded  by  this  shame. 

1.  His  love — contempt  is  the  hardest  of  all  things 
for  love  to  bear — and  then  it  was  such  love  and 
such  contempt. 

*  v.  page  132. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       187 

2.  The  gracefulness  of  His  patience — He  felt  how 

this  aggravated  their  sin. 

3.  His  honor    and    reputation — how    nature    feels 

this,  and  His  nature  most  of  all,  as  being  most 
sensitive. 

4.  His  venerable  dignity — He  had  always  been  so 

mature  and  grave,  and  unseemliness  was  torture 
to  Him. 

5.  His  intellectual  perceptions — of  what  was  right, 

and  due  to  Him,  and  base  in  them. 

6.  His  modesty — especially   in   the   stripping,  both 

for  the  scourging  and  the  crucifixion. 

7.  His  holiness — by  coarseness,  rudeness,  sin,  scur- 

rility, blasphemy,  insolence. 

8.  His  Divine  Majesty — who  can  tell  the  horror  of 

this  to  His  Holy  Soul  ? 
VI.  The  mystery  of  what  shame  was  in  His  Soul. 

1.  In  us  shame  is   chiefly  the  undue  revelation  of 

our  true  selves,  of  that  which  we  most  wish  to 
keep  concealed. 

2.  The  intense  suffering  of  shame. 

(1)  Its  keen  penetrativeness  into  every  recess  of 

our  nature. 

(2)  Its  nervous  raw  feeling,  becoming  unbearable, 

like  touching  the  quick  of  a  wound. 

(3)  The  way  in  which  it  prostrates  all  our  powers. 

(4)  It  makes  everything  around  us  an  instrument 

of  suffering. 

(5)  It  drives  us  from  our   kind,  into   a  mental 

solitude. 

(6)  It    surrounds    us    with    darkness,    deluding, 

puzzling,  bewildering  us. 

(7)  Its  confusion  is  the  painful  death  of  all  that 


188  PART  II. 

is  most  sensitively  alive  within  us.  And 
yet,  for  the  most  part,  all  this  comes  from 
the  laying  bare  of  our  true  selves. 

3.  Its  office. 

(1)  The  shame  of  the   Passion  is  dwelt  upon  in 

Scripture  as  an  essential  element  in  it. 

(2)  Its  presence  in  all  holiness :  all  saints  are  in 

their»measure  made  by  shame. 

(3)  What  it  was  in  His  Soul  we  can  only  guess. 

He  doubtless  had  shame  from  many  things 
which  we  are  too  obtuse  and  coarse  to 
understand. 

4.  We  may  guess  that  in  Him  it  was. 

(1)  A  false   imputation  of  what  was  not  due  to 

Him,  and  the  mere  imputation  of  which 
was  suffering  to  His  pure  Soul. 

(2)  It  was  an  accumulation  of  opprobrious   and 

vile  and  ludicrous  positions  in  which  He 
was  placed,  which  to  His  keen  sensibilities 
were  inconceivably  more  so  than  they  could 
be  to  us. 

(3)  It  was  like  the  flaying  alive  of  the  unimagin- 

able modesty  of  His  Sacred  Humanity. 

(4)  It   was  the  glare   of  publicity,    to    shyness 

which  eyes  looked  through  as  if  they  were 
swords. 

(5)  It    came    upon    Him    when  weakened   and 

crushed  by  tortures  both  of  mind  and  body. 

(6)  It  was  a  violence  to  the  tranquil  depths  of 

His  Humility,  digging  them  deeper  all  the 
while  by  its  outrages. 

(7)  It  was  immensely  heightened  by  the  sense  of 

injustice. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       189 

(8)  Glory  was  as   it  were   the  natural   life   and 

repose  of  His  Soul   because  of  the  Hypo- 
static  Union. 

(9)  His   Divine  Person  may  have   been  in  this 

respect  a  source  of  suffering  to  His  Holy 

Soul. 

The  shameful  Way  of  the  Cross,  His  Mother  bathed 
in  shame:  the  blasts  of  the  Roman  trumpets  in  the 
streets  reminded  Him,  if  He  ever  needed  His  self- 
collection  reminded,  of  the  angelic  trumpet  of  the  Day 
of  Doom — that  day  when  all  creation,  even  its  holiest 
heights,  shall  be  put  to  shame,  and  God's  lovely  purity 
gleam  unspeakably  bright  above  us,  through  the  holy 
Soul  of  our  dearest  Lord  and  Judge. 


VI. 


OUTWARD  DEMEANOR  AND  INWARD 
DISPOSITIONS. 

The  rough  men  of.  sequestered  Nazareth,  when  they 
were  sad,  used  to  say,  "  Let  us  go  and  see  Mary's  Son ! " 
This  was  revealed  by  our  Lady  to  St.  Bridget.     We 
have  treated  of  the  bodily  sufferings  and  mental  suffer- 
ings, and  the  shame ;  now  all  these  three  things  affect 
outward  demeanor  and  inward  dispositions :  we  must 
bear  those  three  chapters  in  mind  now,  and  see  how  He 
bore  up  under  them. 
I.  The  external  beauty  of  our  Lord. 
1.  Everything  about  Jesus  was  full  of  living  grace: 
nothing  was  merely  exterior. 


190  PART  II. 

2.  His  beauty  and  venerable  appearance,  breeding 

holiness,  yet  attracting  sinners. 

3.  It  was  the  reflection  of  His  holiness,  and  even  the 

working  of  His  Divine  Nature. 

4.  This  beauty  was  part  of  Mary's  love  of  Him. 

5.  It  is  part  of  the  joy  of  heaven  at  this  hour. 

6.  How  it  added  to  the  pathos  of  the  Passion  amid 

those  harsh  voices  and  dreadful  faces. 

7.  While  it  was  defaced,  it  still  remained  venerable 

and  attractive  as  a  spell. 

II.  His  manner  during  the  Passion. 

1.  His   unselfishness,  and  unobtrusive   considerate- 

ness,  as  Let  these  go  their  way ;  also  His  words 
on  the  cross. 

2.  Voluntary  obedience,  as  in  the  garden  when  men 

fell  before  Him. 

3.  Kind  words,  and  grave  pitiful  tone  of  voice,  never 

changed  or  quickened  or  heightened. 

4.  His  look  under  the  worst  indignities  was  full  of 

mild  forgiving  sorrow. 

5.  The  beauty  of  His  patience  was  so  imperturbable 

and  winning. 

6.  His  silence  was  the  more  wonderful  because  of  His 

eloquence,  and  His  exquisite  sense  of  injustice, 
which  last  so  rouses  our  nature,  even  in  reading 
history. 

7.  Yet  He  was  neither  stunned  nor  stupefied,  but  col- 

lected, sensitive,  attentive,  observant,  prompt  to 
the  last.  And  all  this  with  such  natural  grace  that 
we  hardly  come  to  think  of  it  until  we  meditate. 

III.  His  demeanor  to  those  who  came  near  Him. 

1.  To  St.  Peter — in  the  supper  room — when  sleeping 
— after  the  denial — then,  as  if  He  carried  His 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       191 

loving  thoughtfulness  unbroken  through  cross, 
and  death,  and  limbus,  and  resurrection,  He 
says,  Go  and  tell  Peter. 

2.  To  St.  John — on  His  bosom  at  supper — in  the 

garden — at  the  foot  of  the  cross. 

3.  Judas — making  three  attempts  to  soften  him,  one 

in  the  supper  room,  eating  out  of  the  same  dish  ; 
yet  the  others  were  not  surprised ;  this  shows 
how  usual  this  courtesy  was. 

4.  Jews — He  wept  over  the  city  from  the  hilltop — 

in  the  garden  His  gentleness — women  in  Via 
Crucis — no  reproach — no  anger  at  the  cry  of 
crudfige — prayer  on  the  cross. 

5.  Pilate — sent  his  wife  to  Him — admission  of  less 

fault.* 

6.  Herod — His    silence    with   the  excommunicated 

sinner — His  dignity  overawing  any  but  a  brutal 
mind,  combined  with  the  sweetness  of  childlike 
unresisting  humility. 

7.  The  thief — sweet  words — instant  forgiveness. 

8.  His  mother — in  the  Via  Crucis — OL,  the  cross — 

with  less  sweetness,  as  if  He  were  in  full 
intelligence  with  her,  and  treated  her  on  a  sort 
of  e'quality. 

9.  To    us — with    our  sins    and   waywardness — His 

thought    for    all — His    Sacred    Heart    almost 
smiling  on  us  with  encouragement  and  welcome 
through  the  dun  eclipse  on  Calvary. 
EV.  The  inward  beauty  of  our  Lord. 

1.  Interior  beauty  compared  to  exterior — not  the 
natural  gifts  of  all  angels  are  equal  to  one  poor 
soul  in  the  lowest  state  of  grace. 

*  John  xix.  11. 


192  PART  II. 

2.  Not  all  saints  and  angels  are  equal  to  Mary,  nor 

countless  Maries  to  the  soul  of  Jesus. 

3.  Wherein  it   consisted — union   with  God — merits 

acquired — sublimity  of  dispositions— their  in- 
tensity. 

4.  All  this  was  heightened  by  the  illumination  of 

His  faculties,  the  capacity  of  His  affections,  the 
order  of  His  appetites,  and  the  serenity  of  His 
sensitive  nature. 

5.  Then  there  was  the  glory  of  His  Divinity  which 

was  shed  so  sweetly,  softly,  fittingly  over  all : 
the  point  of  contact  of  His  two  Natures,  riveted 
together,  yet  unconfused ;  this  union,  or  junction, 
is  itself  the  most  unsurpassed  of  all  created 
beauties. 

6.  To  us  all  this  is  more  beautiful,  because  it  is  for  us. 
V.  His  interior  dispositions. 

1.  The  most  unbroken  peace.  • 

2.  Unspeakable  conformity  of  will  with  the  Father. 

3.  Inconceivable  horror  of  sin. 

4.  Incomparable  tenderness  and  allowance  to  sinners. 

5.  Undistracted  love  of  each  one  of  us. 

6.  The  royalty  of  His  spirit  of  sacrifice:    restraint 

of  consolation,  &c. 

7.  His  thirst  for  suffering. 

8.  The  keen  presence  of  every  natural  human  feel- 

ing :  no  insensibility,  nor  loss  of  humanness 
such  as  perhaps  some  saints  had. 

9.  His  intense  adoration  of  the  justice  and  sanctity 

of  God. 

O  my  beautiful  Lord !  Like  the  moon  on  wild 
nights,  the  clouds  of  Thy  Passion  crowded  round  Thee, 
and  thou  movedst  on  in  Thy  heavenly  gentleness, 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       193 

softening  and  silvering  all  things  around,  so  that  Thou 
art  still  concealing  what  Thou  hast  done  for  us,  Thy 
very  beauty  making  Thy  Passion  seem  less  a  Passion 
than  it  really  was ! 


VII. 
THE  SOLITARINESS. 

In  the  vastness  and  crowdedness  of  Creation  there 
is  something   overwhelming  in   the  Unity  of  God. — 
The  Trinity  seems  to  save  'the  solitude  of  the  Unity — 
so  also  in  the  haunted  darkness  and  wild  clamors  of 
the  Passion,  it  is  terrible  to  think  of  the  loneliness  of 
Jesus,  the  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man. 
I.  Solitude: — the  solitary   saints   are  the  fewest  in 
number — the  most  unknown — have  the  highest 
vocation. 

1.  How  it  ties  our  nature  down  to  its  deepest  depths 

and  brings  up  strange  things. 

2.  Impossibility  of  not  leaning  on  things  to  love, 

and  in  this  life  on  created  things. 

3.  Desertion   and  estrangement   are  hard  to  bear, 

because  of  the  loneliness  they  bring. 

4.  The  solitude  of  being  misunderstood,  and  being 

out  of  sympathy  with  those  around. 

5.  The  loss  of  friends   desolating  and   diminishing 

our  circle — leaving  fewer  to  love  us,  fewer  for 
us  to  love. 

6.  Old  age  is  a  kind  of  solitude — only  insensibility 

tempers  it,  and  God  is  perhaps  more  with  us. 

7.  Sickness   is   a   drawing  of  us   into   still  farther 

solitude — yet  kind  ministries  are  round. 
VoL  I.  N 


194  PART  1 1. 

8.  Death  is  a  very  lonely  action — yet  we  have  priest 

and  sacraments  and  a  personal  visit  from  our 
Lord. 

9.  Judgment  is  swift,  but  fearfully  lonely,  yet  even 

there  is  our  Guardian  Angel,  and  the  Human 
Heart  of  our  Judge. 

II.  The  outward  Solitude  of  the  Passion. 

1.  His  Mother  absent  during  part  of  the  Passion. 

2.  His  disciple  whom  He  loved  was  gone. 

3.  Of  those  whom  He  had  fed  and  healed  not  one 

came  nigh  Him. 

4.  The  usual  kindlinesses  shown  to  the  worst  crim- 

inals were  not  shown  to  Him. 

5.  In  all  the  steps  of  His  Passion  He  was  alone,  in 

the  garden,  well,  guard-room,  Herod's  court, 
streets. 

6.  The  solitude  of  His  silence — no  one  to  speak  to : 

except  the  women  of  Jerusalem. 

7.  The  angels  seemed  withdrawn — at  least  so  far  as 

their  presence  comforted  Him. 

III.  The  inward  Solitude. 

1.  None  could  appreciate  His  horror  of  sin,  nor  the 

multitude  of  sins  He  had  to  bear. 

2.  None  could  understand  His  pains,  not  even  His 

Mother. 

3.  Where  the  eye  looked  for  consolation,  there  was 

aggravation,  in  Mary,  John,  and  the  Apostles. 

4.  Accumulation  of  the  burden  on  Him  alone. 

5.  The  abysses  He  saw  before  Him  of  (1)  the  divine 

anger — if  one  sin  deserved  hell,  what  must  all 
the  sins  of  the  world  have  deserved?  And  it 
was  just  that  which  He  suffered.  (2)  Hungry 
justice — (3)  breathless  suffering: — these  were 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      195 

all  like  so  many  huge  unpeopled  creations  which 
He  had  to  traverse  alone. 

6.  His  Human  Nature  as  it  were  deserted  by  His 

Divine ;  the  torture  of  this,  as  if  Hypostatic 
Union  was  going  to  be  broken. 

7.  Thus  left,  It  was  beset  with  the  usual  assailants, 

fear,  sadness,  wish  to  escape,  fainting,  all  the 
wild  beasts  of  our  own  terrors  let  loose  on  His 
exhausted  strength. 
EV.  The  presences  which  deepened  His  solitude. 

1.  The  angel  comforting  Him,  as  lightning  deepens 

the  night ;  it  also  showed  that  the  solitude  was 
intolerable,  one  ray  of  light  had  to  break  in. 

2.  Mary :  her  Immaculate  Conception  was  to  be  paid 

for  then. 

3.  John,  Avhom  He  so  intensely  loved. 

4.  The  crowd,  which  always  intensifies  solitude.    He 

had  stilled  the  stormy  lake,  but  as  He  looked 
over  the  wild  sea  of  stormy  heads,  He  was  silent 
and  alone ;  His  power  lay  by  His  side  like  a 
paralyzed  arm,  unnoticed  or  restrained. 

5.  The  external  hurry  of  being  dragged  about  from 

place  to  place. 

6.  The   distractions   of   trials   and   questions,   each 

making  His  loneliness  more  painfully  sensible : 
distracted  loneliness  is  peculiarly  painful. 

7.  A   raining  tempest  of  momentarily   diversified 

physical  sufferings,  attempting  to  dislodge  His 
self-collection. 
V.  The  Dereliction  of  the  Father. 

1.  Tearfulness  of  spiritual  trials,  evidenced  by  the 

writhings  of  manly  souls  under  them. 

2.  Horror  of  even  great  saints  at  the  temporary 


196  PART  II. 

hidings  of  God's  countenance,  which  they  can 
hardly  bear.  God  justified  even  Job  for  his 
words. 

3.  Usually  solitude   from   creatures   brings  to  us  a 

more  intimate  presence  of  God. 

4.  No  interior  trials  were  like  those  of  the  Soul  of 

Jesus,  because  no  soul  had  so  enjoyed  His  pres- 
ence, and  none  probably  was  ever  left  in  an 
abandonment  so  nearly  total,  or  so  complete. 

5.  The  Father  abandons  Him :  we  have  no  line  to 

fathom  this  depth  of  the  Passion :  as  if  the  Unity 
of  the  Trinity  were  going  to  break  up ;  creation 
opened  under  Him,  and  He  sank,  oh  horror! 
He  cried  out  piteously,  and  that  moment  the 
angelic  songs  were  all  thrilled  into  mute  amaze- 
ment !  it  was  as  if  He  were  slipping  out  of  crea- 
tion— the  Creator  losing  Himself  in  the  depths 
of  a  Created  Nature,  as  if  He  had  trusted  Him- 
self to  a  spell,  and  was  now  spellbound,  and 
could  not  help  Himself. 

Let  us  turn  away,  or  we  shall  go  wild.  Look  at 
Him  on  His  lonely  Cross :  He  hangs  there  as  it  were 
till  the  end  of  the  world :  but  men  fall  off  from  the 
crucifix,  like  a  crowd  at  a  fair  tired  of  some  exciting 
show :  all  are  busy,  in  the  fields,  or  on  the  roads,  or 
keeping  the  feast  at  home,  or  clustered  like  Sunday 
idlers  at  the  city  gates.  Jesus  is  left  upon  His  mount 
alone ! 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       197 

VIII. 
THE  CIRCLE  OF  EVIL. 

Those  who  have  a  devotion  to  the  Passion  must  to 
some  extent  share  in  it,  especially  in  its  want  of  repose, 
and  in  the  irritating  presence  of  repulsive  horrors  and 
violent  images.  We  must  beware  of  false  delicacies  in 
this  respect. 
I.  The  presence  and  overshadowing  of  evil. 

1.  The  keen  and  various  suffering  which  it  is  to  us 

increasing  with  our  holiness. 

2.  The  fear  which  great  sinners,  murderers,  and  even 

drunkards,  inspire  into  men. 

3.  The  acute  torture  of  coarseness  and  vulgarity  to 

extreme  sensitiveness. 

4.  Dread  of  extreme  cruelty  joined  with  great  power. 

5.  Horror    of  lawlessness;    multitudinous    clamor, 

when  justice  and  fairness  seem  unrealities,  or 
out  of  reach. 

6.  The  loathsome  presence  of  the  wicked  in  hell  is 

one  of  its  most  exceeding  tortures  to  the  wicked 
even. 

7.  What  all  this  was  to  the  sensitive  and  holy  Soul 

of  our  Blessed  Lord. 

II.  The  representative  wickedness  of  all  ages  gathered 
round  Him. 

1.  The  High  Priests — falsehood,  injustice,  rage,  con- 

spiracy, hypocrisy. 

2.  Herod  —  loathsome  sin,  sensual   brutality,  rude 

blasphemy,  daring  to  tempt  to  miracles,  the  base 
violent  pride  of  mere  overbearing  power. 


198  PART  II. 

3.  Pilate  —  the  cruelty  of  weakness,   contempt  of 

worldly  indifference,  paltering  with  conscience, 
which  was  sacrificed  to  love  of  popularity. 

4.  The  Jews — possessed,  surges  of  howling  passion, 

natures  transfigured,  irresponsible  fury. 

5.  The  Roman  soldiers — debauched  ruffians,  offscour- 

ing  of  all  nations,  sinful  hands,  stench  of  sin. 

6.  Even  women : — as  the  one  who  made  Peter  fall : 

children  are  not  named — perhaps  they  kept  to 
their  Hosannas:  children  crying  after  Him 
would  indeed  be  earth's  rejection  of  Him. 

7.  Judas :  —  treachery,  avarice,  hardness  of  heart, 

stupidity  in  not  seeing  beauty  and  truth,  con- 
tempt of  great  graces,  personal  dislike  of  the 
Saviour,  despair,  which  rightly  considered  is  a 
sort  of  personal  dislike  of  God. 

8.  Impenitent  thief:  —  low  base  sin,  vulgarity  and 

meanness  consummated  in  impenitence  close  to 
our  Blessed  Lord's  dying  bed,  so  that  He  is 
almost  in  contact  with  the  damned. 

9.  Invisible  legions  of  evil  spirits — each  of  whose  his- 

tory, and  the  horrible  interior  foulness  of  whose 
spirit,  during  a  long  and  crowded  biography  of 
thousands  of  years,  were  known  to  Him — an 
agony  of  desolation  to  His  Soul,  which  was 
shaken  to  its  centre. 

10.  And  where  was  the  good  ?  It  had  fled,  forsaken, 
denied  Him,  was  ashamed  of  Him,  doubted 
Him,  as  at  Emmaus  the  disciples  did,  or  at  best 
followed  Him  afar  off.  There  was  no  fidelity 
anywhere  but  in  His  Mother,  and  she  drew 
John  after  her  to  represent  us  all  beneath  His 
Cross,  and  have  His  last  breath  which  was  to 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       199 

be  our  new  life,  breathed  upon  us  in  the  person 
of  that  dear  Apostle. 

III.  The  Creator's  visit  to  His  creatures. 

1.  He  comes  with  His  eternal  love,  laden  with  gifts, 

and  beautiful  exceedingly. 

2.  The  holy  intelligent  stupor  of  the  angelic  cre- 

ation. 

3.  He  conies  with  a  created  nature  on  Him,  and 

that  nature  is  man's. 

4.  With  what  love  will  they  not  receive  Him  ?  for 

they  are  captives,  sick,  hungry,  thirsty,  naked, 
cold,  homeless,  condemned  criminals — runaway 
slaves  with  inevitable  arrest  before  them — and 
He  is  all  to  them. 

5.  The   understandings  of    men    not    only   cannot 

understand  Him,  but  so  misunderstand  Him 
that  they  have  a  plain  view  that  He  is  mad. 

6.  Their  wills  are  so  corrupt  that  eternal  freshness, 

beauty,  and  truth  are  to  them  tiresome,  ugly, 
and  unpersuasive. 

7.  All  that  is  most  divine  about  Him,  viz..   His 

doctrine,  patience,  absolution,  miraclts,  and 
Divinity  itself,  is  just  what  is  most  repulsive 
and  hateful  to  them. 

IV.  The  phenomenon  considered. 

1.  He  had  doubtless  mysterious  reasons  for  choosing 

the  time  and  place. 

2.  His  presence  drew  out  the<  evil  by  some  hidden 

law,  as  good  always  seems  to  do. 

3.  Every  nation  and  blood  was  perhaps  represented 

there. 

4.  The  world  may  possibly  have  been   less  wicked 

since,  just  as  Satan  has  been  more  bound. 


200  PART  II. 

5.  Satan  had  now  found  out  the  Incarnation,  and  it 

was  the  great  battle,  greater  than  St.  Michael's 
of  old. 

6.  The  extremity  of  iniquity  hunted  and  brought  to 

bay  the  extremity  of  holiness  as  its  prey.  Oh, 
how  men  hunt  in  pacKs  like  winter  wolves ! 

7.  Human   nature,  around  the   Sinless  Humanities 

of  Jesus  and  Mary,  because  half  devil  and  half 
beast,  and  was  the  fittest  of  all  natures,  because 
of  its  double  capability  of  spiritual  and  material 
wickedness,  for  the  awful  insurrection  of  matter 
and  spirit  combined  against  the  Incarnate 
Creator. 
V.  The  Creator  in  the  power  of  His  creatures. 

1.  The  ring  of  evil  drawn  closely  round  Him  in  one 

city  in  four-and-twenty  hours. 

2.  It  was  made  up  of,  (1)  rage,  (2)  hatred,  (3)  scorn, 

(4)  indifference,  (5)  disgust,  (6)  weariness, 
(7)  petty  spite,  (8)  political  jealousy,  (9)  foreign 
disdain,  (God  a  foreigner!)  (10)  national  fac- 
tion, (11)  persecution  of  false  doctrine,  (12)  un- 
reasoning cruelty,  (13)  malicious  cruelty,  (14) 
inventive  cruelty,  (15)  imitative  cruelty. 

3.  And  all  this  was  at  once  triumphant,  and  out- 

bursting  in  barbarities  and  indignities,  which  one 
human  life  could  not  have  had  concentrated  in 
itself  without  the  aid  of  omnipotence. 

4.  The  phenomena  are  inexplicable  except  on  the 

supposition  of  the  heights  of  human  guilt  being 
topped,  and  its  energies  reinforced,  by  the  awful- 
ness  of  demoniacal  possession.     This  makes  the 
Passion  part  of  the  sin  of  the  angels. 
6.  The  tempest  is  at  its  height,  in  the  streets   of 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      201 

Jerusalem — awful  end  of  creation,  the  creatures 
triumphant,  crowding  in  on  their  Creator,  tread- 
ing on  His  heels ;  God  is  in  their  power,  and  the 
wickedness  of  all  generations  is  charging  down 
upon  Him,  to  trample  Him  beneath  their  feet : 
they  will  pull  Him  down  as  if  to  worry  Him. 

6.  God's  ordinary  control  over  corruption  is  appar- 

ently withdrawn :  awful  unboundedness  of  the 
freedom  of  sinful  wills. 

7.  In  the  midst,  almost  trampled  out  of  existence, 

was  a  young  man  of  three-and-thirty,  well  nigh 
disfigured  out  of  human  shape,  staggering  under 
a  cruel  instrument  of  punishment,  and  falling 
with  a  dull  sound  upon  the  street,  and  a  weak 
woman,  the  victim's  heart-broken  mother,  flung 
almost  under  the  feet  of  the  mob  and  the  hoof 
of  the  centurion's  horse,  with  her  blue  mantle 
stained  with  mud.  That  young  Man  was  God ! 
Has  not  evil  won  the  battle  ?  Is  there  one  hope  left 
of  triumph  for  eternal  love  ? 


IX. 

HIS  DIVINITY  IN  THE  PASSION. 

Listen  !  the  noise  of  frantic  Jerusalem  has  died  away, 
or  sounds  faint  and  far  off:  and  there  are  the  soft 
strains  of  celestial  music  with  calmest  rapture  and 
most  penetrating  melodies  winding  around  the  throne 
of  the  Eternal  Word,  and  dying  down  into  pauses  of 
the  most  profound  und  restful  silence. 


202  PART  II, 

I.  Devotions  to  the  Incarnation,  and  especially  to  the 
Passion,  require  a  constant  remembrance  of  our 
Lord's  Divinity. 

1.  He  is  Himself  that  Ecce  Homo,  the  Everlasting 

God,  in  all  things  equal  to  the  Father  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  no  faintest  shadow  of  subordination 
falling  on  the  measureless  waters  of  His  Divine 
Nature. 

2.  His  Person  is  the  Second  Person  of  the  Most 

Holy  Trinity,  and  so  the  truth,  beauty,  and 
wisdom  of  the  Father. 

3.  His  Advent  and  Passion  are  equally  the  act  of 

all  the  Three  Divine  Persons.  <* 

4.  It  was  His  own  free  will  to  come,  and  to  be  sent 

by  the  Father,  and  to  rejoice  in  His  Mission, 
which  in  no  way  encroached  on  His  Equality. 

5.  No  created  holiness,  singly  or  collectively,  could 

have  merited  His  coming. 

6.  It  need   not  have  been  with  such  profusion  of 

suffering  and  shame ;  that  was  His  choice  with 
a  view  to  our  enthusiasm,  loyalty  and  love — and 
perhaps,  for  other  mysterious  reasons,  to  slake 
the  celestial  thirsts  of  His  dear  Human  Nature. 

7.  His   Sacred    Humanity   claims    fullest    divinest 

worship,  because  of  its  union  with  His  Person 
and  Divine  Nature. 
[I.  How  this  affects  all  the  mysteries  of  Jesus. 

1.  It  even  seems  to  make  them  more  human :  as 
His  own  Creator,  He  understands  His  own 
created  nature,  and  like  one  skilled  in  a  perfect 
but  difficult  instrument,  draws  out  new  and 
enchanting  sounds,  in  marvellous  entrancing 
combinations. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       203 

2.  It  gives  an  unerring  beauty  to  all  He  said  and 

did ;  everything  is  a  model,  a  type,  an  ideal. 

3.  It  throws  a  tenderness  over  all  His  mysteries,  like 

the  revealed  love  of  the  Father,  not  like  any 
thin  human  love. 

4.  But  especially  it  gives  the  uttermost  pathos  to  the 

Passion. 

5.  It  is  the  only  true  basis  for  our  real  intelligent 

horror  of  Sin,  which  must  always  be  measured 
not  by  the  weakness  of  our  nature,  but  by  the 
Divinity  of  Him  who  made  the  expiation. 

6.  It  alone  gives  a  light  strong  enough  to  reveal  the 

depths  of  His  love  for  us. 

7.  It  alone  can  nourish  to  its  gigantic  proportions 

our  love  of  Him  by  infallibly  persuading  us  of 
the  immensity  of  the  value  which  He  sets  upon 
our  love. 
III.  What  His  Divinity  conferred  in  the  Passion. 

1.  His  omnipotence  enabled  Him  to  live  to  suffer 

more. 

2.  His  wisdom  enabled  Him  to  penetrate  the  revolt- 

ing abominations  of  sin. 

3.  By  it  He  could  fathom  the  anger  of  the  Father, 

and  know  what  it  meant  to  have  an  angry  God, 
and  how  beautiful  is  the  imperturbable  dread 
glory  of  anger  in  the  Divine  Nature. 

4.  By  it  He  could  pierce  the  darkness  of  hell,  and 

estimate  sin's  punishments. 

5.  By  it  He  could  foresee  the  comparatively  few  who 

would  appreciate  His  Precious  Blood,  the  low 
esteem  of  It  in  those  who  should  love  Him  best, 
and  the  almost  forgetfulness  of  those  whom  It 
would  save. 


204  PART  II. 

6.  By  it  He  was  enabled  to  feel  all  the  torments 

there  and  then  unconfusedly,  and  with  indescrib- 
able reality  and  vividness,  both  His  own  and 
those  of  His  elect. 

7.  It  flooded  His  lower  nature  with  a  light,  in  which 

it  grew  unspeakably  refined  and  sensitive,  and 
which  made  shame  an  unspeakable   stabbing, 
sharp,  deep,  fiery,  to  a  quick  which  other  men 
have  not. 
IV.  What  His  Divinity  withheld. 

1.  It  withheld  the  joy-bringing  effects  of  the  Beatific 

Vision  from  His  sensitive  nature  ;  and  probably 
also  restrained  His  intellectual  nature  from  com- 
forting and  illuminating  and  restoring  His  sen- 
sitive nature,  at  least  to  some  degree. 

2.  It  froze  up  all  the  joys  of  the  human  Nature, 

except  the  point  of  the  Soul,  where  the  Vision 
was. 

3.  It  did  not  alleviate  one  single  pain,  or  make  it 

less  intolerable. 

4.  Neither  did  it  console  one  single  mental  agony. 

5.  It  did  not  let  loose  its  omnipotence,  which,  seeing 

how  it  loved  the  suffering  nature  with  which  it 
was  so  intimately  united,  was  a  sort  of  constraint 
and  loss  of  liberty. 

6.  It  doubtless  withhekl  other  mysterious   influxes 

of  which  we  know  nothing,  but  which  had  to  do 
with  the  living  communion  of  the  two  blessed 
Natures. 
V.  The  use  of  His  Divinity  in  the  Passion,  so  far  as  it 

regarded  ourselves. 

1.  By  it  we  know  that  we  arc  separately  and  dis- 
tinctly before  Him  in  all  that  Passion. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      205 

2.  It  teaches  us  not  to  shrink  in  thought,  as  it  did 

not  shrink  in  fact,  from  the  distressing  horrors 
of  the  Passion,  as  modern  weak  faith  and  fastidi- 
ousness are  fain  to  do.  Oh,  if  it  rends  our  body 
and  soul  asunder,  let  us  not  be  so  irreverent  as 
to  shrink  from  fathoming  the  terrible  things  into 
which  and  through  which  we  ourselves  actually 
thrust  Him. 

3.  His  Divinity  teaches  us  that  love  alone  can  repay 

Him,  for  love  alone  approximates  to  the  infinite. 

4.  It  intensifies  our  spirit  of  adoration. 

5.  It  tries,  stretches,  invigorates,  and  gives  new  capa- 

bilities to  our  faith,  like  exercise  and  mountain 
climbing  to  the  muscles. 

6.  It  discloses  in  all  its  real  grandeur  the  copiousness 

of  our  redemption,  each  of  those  countless  pains 
being  simply  infinite  expiations. 

7.  It  shows  us  that  part  of  our  own  deification  must 

be  imitation  of  the  Passion,  nay,  more  than 
imitation,  even  true  participation  in  it. 
Oh  then  let  us  kneel  down  before  the  Divine  Nature 
of  the  Eternal  Word,  and  feel  our  thoughts  and  imagi- 
nations travelling  away  far  beyond  our  reach,  and  the 
fires  of  love  burning  with  unconsuming  heat  our  holiest 
affections,  and  the  deep,  deep  spirit  of  dreadest  speech- 
less adoration  taking  possession  with  its  calm  strength 
of  our  soul  and  flesh,  and  let  us  so  love  that  illimitable 
Nature  in  its  pale,  bleeding,  disfigured,  crucified  taber- 
nacle, that  we  shall  cease  to  pine  on  earth  for  heaven, 
because  earth  contains  what  we  most  desire  in  heaven  : 
for  Calvary  is  changed  to  Tabor,  because  of  the  Divinity 
of  Him  who  with  sweet  tones  like  His  Mother's  is 
speaking  His  beautiful  words  upon  the  Cross. 


206  PART  II. 

X. 

THE  SPECTATORS  OF  THE  PASSION. 

Around  that  marvellous  mystery  were  gathered  such 
spectators !  The  whole  universe  was  there  to  see ;  the 
angelic  creation ;  past  generations  whose  eyes  had  been 
fixed  upon  it,  and  were  now  in  limbus,  purgatory,  or 
hell ;  and  all  generations  to  come ;  probably  represen- 
tatives of  all  peoples  were  actually  on  the  spot ;  and 
more  than  that,  the  Uncreated,  God  Himself,  was  there 
to  witness. 
I.  It  was  a  trial — 

1.  Which  decided  the  greatest  interests. 

2.  Which  exhibited  the  highest  sublimities. 

3.  Whose  effects  were  to  be  for  ever. 

4.  Which  wedded  temporal  and  eternal  as  never  had 

been  done  before,  and  up  to  the  limits  of  what  is 
possible. 

5.  Which  involved  the  deepest  and  most  numerous 

mysteries. 

6.  Which  resolved  more  of  God's  secrets. 

1,  Which  was  more  wonderful  than  even  the  sur- 
passing pomp  of  the  world's  last  day. 
II.  The  Spectators :  what  they  saw,  and  how  it  looked 
to  them. 

1.  God. 

(1)  The    beautiful     accomplishment    of   eternal 

decrees. 

(2)  The  exhibition  of  the  most  surpassing  excel- 

lence of  created  sanctity. 

(3)  The  completest  worship  which  ever  satiated 

His  hungry  glory. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       207 

(4)  The  greatest  event  in  the  history  of  creation. 

(5)  The  furthest  stretch  of  love  out  of  Himself. 

Oh  what  a  mystery  that  it  could  not  increase 
His  love  of  the  Eternal  Word,  already  im- 
mutable in  its  Uncreated  Excess ! 

2.  Mary. 

(1)  She  so  penetrated  each  horror,  that  even  the 

prevision  of  it  had  taken  nothing  out  of  it. 

(2)  She  saw  each  as  the  price  of  her  own  graces. 

(3)  She    saw  the    redeemed    Church    in   dusky 

shadowy  magnificence  rising  like  a  grand 
and  endless  procession  out  of  the  tumult  of 
noise  and  blood  and  shame. 

(4)  Her  heart  was  in  completest  union — 1.  With 

her  Son.  2.  With  the  Saviour.  3.  With 
her  own  martyrdom.  4.  With  sinners.  5. 
With  the  Apostles.  6.  With  the  Eternal 
Father. 

(5)  Even  to  her  it  was  like  a  new  revelation  of  her 

Son's  beauty  and  sanctity. 

3.  Angels. 

(1)  A  fountain   of  heavenly   amazement,  which 

they  looked  into  with  intense  desire,  yet 
which  even  their  vast  intelligences  could 
not  fathom. 

(2)  It  gave  a  new  character  to  their  devotion. 

(3)  Their  having  to  be  neutral,  being  bidden  to 

stand  back. 

(4)  It  seemed  a  new  disclosure  of  God  to  them, 

far  more  than  the  mere  foresight  of  it 
could  be. 

(5)  It  taught  them  in  a  more  excellent  way  the 

science  of  loving  men. 


208  PART  II. 

4.  The  Apostles  and  Disciples. 

(1)  It  stunned  and  overwhelmed  them. 

(2)  They  were  simply  supported  by  their  Master's 

prayer  and  their  Queen's  example. 

(3)  It  explained  to  them  so  much  of  the  past. 

(4)  Their  faith  in  His  Divinity  took  root  in.  all 
this  shame. 

(5)  They,  like  the  angels,  began  to  learn  the  true 

science  of  loving  men — instinct  for  souls: 
souls  were  in  the  world  of  the  Passion  what 
bodies  and  hearts  are  in  the  common  world. 

5.  Evil  Spirits. 

(1)  A  terrible  bewildering  amazement. 

(2)  An  intensification  of  their  misery. 

(3)  A  piercing  fear  which  loosened  and  made  faint 

all  the  compactness  of  their  strength. 

(4)  An  excitement  of  their  rage  and  envy  against 

men :  increased  fury  as  fighting  a  losing 
battle. 

(5)  Yet  an  actual  diminution  of  their  power. 

6.  The  Jews. 

(1)  Everything  indistinguishable  in  the  first  fury 

of  their  possession. 

(2)  A  source  of  aching  misgivings  when  excite- 
ment evaporated. 

(3)  A  national  shame,  and  a  corporate  sin  not  to 

be  retracted. 

(4)  The  end  of  their  history  in  a  second  Exodus, 
when  they  would  not  cross :   Titus  was  only 
wanted  to  burn  up  the  ruins. 

(5)  Yet  a  curse,  and  a  living  energetic  stigma, 

which  they  had  evoked  like  a  spirit  out 
of  its  awful  depths  —  they  branded  them- 


THE  SACEED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      209 

selves  with  the  Precious  Blood  like  Cain's, 
and  the  world  watches  them. 

7.  Gentiles. 

(1)  It  lay  before  them  like  the  great  sea  before  an 

idiot,  an  unmeaning  commonplace  expanse. 

(2)  Not  of  more  consequence  than  to  be  the  talk 

of  the  guard-room  for  a  day  or  so. 

(3)  It  was  their  first  actual  contact  with  God  since 

the  Fall  or  the  Flood. 

(4)  The   Roman   empire  really  the  servant  and 

lacquey  of  the  Passion. 

(5)  It  transferred    to  the   Gentiles    the    divine 

empire  of  the  world. 

8.  The  rest  of  the  world  at  the  time. 

(1)  A  piece  of  news  flying  without  much  excite- 

ment along  the  Roman  roads. 

(2)  In  some  places  combined  with  various  fright- 

ening phenomena  of  nature. 

(3)  Like  God's  great  works  generally,  it  did  not 

disturb  the  ordinary  current  of  affairs. 

(4)  Yet  there   was   not  a  nation    there,  whose 

future   light  was  not   to   rise  out  of  that 
darkness. 

(5)  For  each   one   apart,   and  with    diversified 

special  application,  that  Passion  is  suffered. 

9.  Subsequent  generations. 

(1)  A  perfect  revolution  of  ideas:  strength  of 

weakness,  wisdom  of  folly,  glory  of  shame, 
&c. 

(2)  New  standards  of  moral  excellence,  forgive- 

ness, '  patience,  silence,  &c. 

(3)  The  deep  imbedding  of  the  supernatural  in 
the  natural. 

Vol.  J.  O 


210  PART  II. 

(4)  The  irresistible  mould  of  their  future  litera< 

ture,  history,  art,  law,  and  even  falsehoods. 

(5)  At  once  the  creator  and  the  destroyer  of  their 

successive  civilizations. 
10.  Ourselves. 

(1)  The  deep  in  which  to  drown  our  past  lives. 

(2)  The  buoyant  waters  of  the  harbor  where  our 

present  rides  at  anchor  securely. 

(3)  Out  of  which  all  hopes  and  successes  for  the 

future  are  to  come. 

(4)  Its  shores  are  our  sole  terrestrial  home  in  the 

life  of  grace,  exiled  from  which  we  pine  and 
die. 

(5)  The  literal  Red  Sea  through  which  must  be 

our  Exodus  to  our  eternal  home. 
TIL  Let  us  look  again. 

1.  There  is  no  tranquillity  anywhere  but  in  Jesus 

and  Mary. 

2.  Hurry,  precipitation,  noise,  frenzy,  mental  dark- 

ness, moral  delirium — no  one  thinks  or  sees  what 
it  all  means,  but  He  and  she. 

3.  Oh  the  unsuspicious  impetuosity  with  which  men 

accomplish  God's  decrees  for  Him. 

4.  Jesus  still  beautiful  in  His  patience,  venerable  in 

His  sufferings,  though  sunk  almost  out  of  sight 
in  the  depths  of  woe. 

5.  The  quietness  which  follows  round  Calvary,  the 

new  Sabbath  after  this  second  terrible  creation 
of  the  world.  The  second  Adam  has  been  the 
Creator,  and  He  lies  cold  and  still  in  His  deso- 
late garden,  and  the  dark  night  falls  on  the 
second  Eve,  driven  with  her  broken  heart  in 
that  desolate  wilderness  of  the  cruel  city. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       211 

The  green  hill  of  Calvary — all  the  ages  of  the  world 
beat  at  its  foot,  and  fling  their  surge  over  its  base ;  the 
ages  before  our  Lord  flooded  darkly  up,  and  sank  back, 
rolling  the  stones  down  the  beach  with  hoarse  murmur, 
like  the  vain  efforts  of  an  ebbing  tide.  High  above  all 
civilizations  rises  the  green  hill,  with  the  sun  upon  its 
sides,  and  the  beacon  of  the  crucifix,  far-seen  and  radi- 
ant, and  in  the  dark  night  giving  out  unobscured  light 
— it  is  the  sole  harbor  of  tempest-tossed  humanity,  its 
sole  safe  anchorage,  where  anchors  never  drag,  and  the 
rolling  billows  fall  back  from  its  base,  as  if  tamed  on 
the  instant  by  a  spell! 


XL 

THE  SHADOWS  OF  CALVARY. 

It  is  more  hard  to  think  of  God  within  us  than  of 
God  without  us,  yet  it  is  the  best  way  of  practising  His 
Presence :  so  it  is  hard  to  think  of  the  Passion,  not  as 
an  historical  fact  or  a  mystery  accomplished,  but  as  a 
living  surviving  thing,  a  power,  a  presence  a  divine 
energy ;  yet  this  last  is  the  true  view  of  it. 
I.  The  Passion  living  on  in  the  Church. 

1.  Really  in  the  Mass,  which  is  the  continuation  or 

renewal  of  the  same  sacrifice  on  ten  thousand 
altars  daily ;  and  thus  the  abiding  presence  in 
the  tabernacle  is  through  the  continuation  and 
memory  of  the  Passion. 

2.  In  the  sacraments,  whose  living  efficacy  in  each 

case  is  the  application  of  the  Passion  to  the  soul. 


212  PART  IT. 

3.  Martyrdoms  are  deep  real  shadows,  nay,  true  par- 

ticipations of  it. 

4.  All  the  sufferings  of  the  elect  are  sanctified  and 

made  meritorious  by  the  shadow  of  the  Passion. 

5.  All  the  spiritual  realities  of  inward  and  outward 

mortification  shadow  forth  the  Passion,  and  they 
are  innumerable  daily. 

6.  The  shadow  of  the  Passion  on  men  and  things  is 

the  badge  of  Christ's  ownership. 

7.  The  hearts  of  the  saints,  like  sea-shells,  murmur 

of  the  Passion  evermore. 

II.  The  Passion  an  attraction. 

1.  Our  Lord's  prophecy  that  it  should  be  so ;  If  I  be 

lifted  up  from  the  earth,  I  will  draw  all  things 
to  Myself. 

2.  Its  attraction  to  sinners  from  the  plentifulness  of 

its  redemption. 

3.  To  those  who  are  simply  world-wearied,  like  the 

restful  darkness  of  the  welcome  night. 

4.  To  those  who  love  God  and  are  aiming  at  perfec- 

tion. 

5.  Even  to  little  children,  who  as  yet  hardly  under- 

stand sin. 

6.  It  satisfies  the  doubts  and  cravings  of  all  hearts 

by  reassuring  them. 

7.  There   is  something  quite  supernatural   in   this 

attraction  over  and   above  the   beauty  of  the 
mysteries. 

III.  The  Passion  in  the  active  life. 

1.  The  grand  fountain  of  unworldliness,  and  super- 

natural principles. 

2.  The  daily  works  of  mercy  endlessly  flowing  out 

of  it,  all  over  the  Church. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      213 

3.  Holy  Week   a  sort  of  universal  retreat  to  the 

whole  world ;    one  use  of  the  functions  is  to 
make  it  unlike  all  other  times. 

4.  The  stimulus  of  missionaries,  and  the  converting 

persuasion  of  nations  and  sinners. 

5.  Power  of  endurance  of  the  calamities  of  life. 

6.  Excessive  sweetness  and  mutual  forbearance  all 

over  society. 

7.  The  constant  occupation   of  the  mind  of  Chris- 

tendom. 

IV.  The  Passion  in  the  contemplative  life. 

1.  With  most  contemplative  orders  the   Passion  is 

the  chief  thing,  and  expiation  the  basis :    some 
are  founded  on  the  Passion. 

2.  Individual   contemplative  souls  are   brought  by 

attrait    into    some    peculiar    relation    to    the 
Passion. 

3.  The  way  in  which  it  out-tops  with  them  all  other 

mysteries. 

4.  How   it  fixes    the    gaze    of   the    contemplative 

soul. 

5.  It  becomes  at  last  a  kind  of  sacred  possession. 

6.  It  is  life-long,  and  runs  the  year  round,  deepen- 

ing in  Passiontide. 

7.  Its  process  is  firstly  compassion,  then  imitation, 

then  actual  participation  in  the  Passion. 

V.  The  Passion  working  inward  similitude. 

1.  The  spirit  of  sacrifice  and  expiation. 

2.  Love   of  suffering   independent  of  the   idea  of 

expiation:    thirst    for  it  increasing    with    the 
amount  of  it. 

3.  Supernatural  horror  and  sadness,  because  of  tha 

sins  of  others. 


214  PART  II. 

4.  Efficacious  desire  to  expiate  the  sin   of  others, 

thus  passing  beyond  the  sins  of  self. 

5.  Suffering  in   silence,   and   abandoning  with  un- 

earthly discretion  all  self-defence. 

6.  Inward   trials    distantly   resembling  our  Lord's 

with  mysterious  operations  of  grace  in  the 
soul,  mixed  up  of  deep  joy  and  intense  suf- 
fering. 

7.  Transformation  of  the  whole  man,  intellect  and 

will,  who  views  and  feels  towards  all  things  as 
He  did  then :  the  world  gone  out  of  sight, 
hardly  realizable  even  to  the  imagination — in 
strange  thick  oblivion,  so  that  the  powers  of 
thought  cannot  advance  in  that  direction. 
VI.  The  Passion  working  outward  similitude. 

1.  Revelations :     constant    increase    of    knowledge 

poured  into  the  Church  through  contempla- 
tives. 

2.  Visions,  both  intellectual  and  imaginary ;  hardly 

a  saint  is  without  them. 

3.  Pilgrimages   either  outward   like    St.   Bridget's, 

or  inward  like  St.  Lidwine's. 

4.  Inwardly  feeling  the  actual  pains  of  the  different 

mysteries,  sometimes  of  the  whole  Passion  suc- 
cessively. 

5.  Stigmatisation — partial  —  complete — visible — in- 

visible— gradual  —  instantaneous  —  transient  — 
perpetual — recurring. 

6.  Postures  of  body,  acting   out   in  ecstacy  a  real 

drama  of  the  Passion,  called  Mystical  Sta- 
tions. 

7.  Supernatural    states,    having    reference    to    the 

Passion — either  habitual,  or  in  sympathy  with 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      215 

the  Christian   calendar;    even   martyrdoms   of 
saints  shine  forth  through  other  souls.* 
VII.  Conclusion  of  all  this. 

1.  The  greatness  of  the  Passion,  and  so  the  duty  of 

steadfastly  contemplating  it  all. 

2.  Its  ever-living  power,  fresh  as  the  first  day  and 

multitudinously  reduplicated. 

3.  The  mysterious  way  in  which  it  works  in  soul 

and  body,  like  plants  and  flowers  shaping, 
coloring,  and  scenting  themselves  by  hidden 
chemistry. 

4.  How  Jesus  clings  to  it,  thus  renewing  it  in  the 

Mass  and  the  saints,  and  keeping  His  Five 
Wounds  in  heaven. 

5.  How   it  is  a  great  deep  world    underlying  all 

common  holiness,  which  is  overarched  above  it, 
with  saints  perpetually  working  through  it,  and 
all  perhaps  doing  so  in  their  death  agonies. 

6.  It  is  not  therefore  an  historical  fact  done  and 

over. 

7.  It  is  a  perfectly  furnished  world,  with  creatures 

of  its  own,  and  a  way  of  life,  and  standards  of 
practice,  and  ideals  of  beauty,  quite  unearthly, 
not  formed  on  earth's  life,  but  as  if  creatures 
and  life  of  some  other  planet. 

Thus  everywhere  is  the  vast  Church  resounding 
with  the  Passion  ;  over  its  rich  and  populous  lowlands 
lies  forever  the  Shadow  of  Mount  Calvary,  and  all 
things  good  grow  beneath  its  cool  defence:  in  its 
highest  mountains  its  mystical  echoes  sound  strangely, 
from  noon  to  midnight,  and  from  midnight  back  to 
noon,  fearful  and  beautiful  for  us  dwellers  on  the  plain 

*Gorres,  Mystik.  1.  iv.  c.  20. 


216  PART  II. 

to  hear,  while  its  rivers  that  wind  everywhere  amid 
the  close  woods  and  peaceful  fields,  and  through  great 
cities,  bring  down  the  plentiful  Blood  that  was  shed  on 
Calvary,  from  altars  where  the  real  Sacrifice,  the  very 
Calvary,  is  transfiguring  earth  with  its  transcendent 
truthfulness  in  the  daily  mass ;  so  that  our  sights  and 
sounds,  the  supernatural  odors  on  our  river  banks, 
what  we  touch  and  taste,  and  feed  upon,  feeding  with 
mouth  no  less  truly  than  with  mind,  is  all  from  Calvary 
where  those  rivers  rise — and  the  mouths  of  those  rivers 
are  the  harbors  of  eternity ! 


XII. 

THE  ABYSS. 

O  Tabor !  Calvary  is  far  better  than  thou  art,  for  all 
thou  didst  catch  such  a  flush  of  glory  once  from  the 
open  heavens.  It  is  far  better  to  be  with  John  on  Cal- 
vary than  with  our  great  father  St.  Peter  upon  Tabor ; 
and  Peter  thinks  so  too  now,  and  thought  so  upon 
his  inverted  cross  at  Rome,  Avhen  he  found  his  Calvary 
so  near  the  Vatican.  But  now  is  the  great  three  hours 
on  Calvary. 

I.  The  Seven  Words.  St.  John's  word  about  silence 
in  heaven  for  half  an  hour:  so  now  is  there 
silence  and  a  beautiful  darkening  of  the  world 
in  the  hearts  of  millions  of  God's  creatures. 
The  whole  Church  is  as  it  were  gathered  on  the 
top  of  the  platform  of  Calvary,  to  receive  into 
its  heart  the  last  words  of  its  dying  Lord. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       217 

1.  First  word.    Father  !  forgive  them,  for  they  know 

not  what  they  do.  Its  circumstances.  Eleva- 
tion of  the  cross,  blast  of  trumpets  from  the 
temple  below,  insults,  many  minutes  as  if  dead, 
then  the  voice  of  the  Creator  heard. 

(1)  The  beauty  of  its  being  the  first  thought. 

(2)  It  sums  up  all  the  Passion  —  He  breaks  the 

silence  in  behalf  of  sinners. 

(3)  The  power  of  that  word  going  on  to  this  very 

day. 

2.  Second  word.   Amen,  I  say  to  thee,  This  day  thou 

shalt  be  with  Me  in  Paradise.  Dismas  and 
Gesmas,  the  two  thieves — darkness  grows — birds 
and  beasts  hushed  by  the  eclipse — men  whis- 
pered only — Mary  prayed  for  the  thief — then 
came  the  word  of  the  Incarnate  Word. 

(1)  No  single  soul  was  forgotten  in  the  multitude ; 

but  the  thief  was  a  happy  type  of  multitudi- 
nous souls. 

(2)  Exulting    abundance  of   omnipotent    grace, 

going  beyond  the  thief. 

(3)  Oh !  when  we  come  to  die  how  that  word  will 

make  music  in  our  ears. 

3.  Third  word.     Woman,  behold"  thy  son ; — behold 

thy  Mother.  Not  Me,  but  thy  new  son  —  He 
looks  at  her,  as  if  to  thank  her  for  her  prayer 
for  Dismas — the  whole  history  of  the  world  in 
His  look,  and  oh  !  the  love  of  it. 

(1)  This  is  her  second  Annunciation.* 

(2)  How  He  sanctifies  thereby  the  holy  solicitudes 

of  domestic  love. 

*v.  Foot  of  the  Cross,  p.  302.— (in  the  Fourth  Edition,  p.  321.) 


218  PART  II. 

(3)  The  grandeur  and  sweetness  of  the  legacy  He 
left  us. 

4.  Fourth  word.    My  God !  My  God !  why  hast  Thou 

forsaken  Me  ?    There  is  trouble  in  the  city — He 
is  like  God  in  the  cloud  of  Sinai. 

(1)  He  has  given  away  His  Mother:  now  His 

Heavenly  Father  leaves  Him. 

(2)  Momentary  revelation  of  the  depth  to  which 

our  sins  had  sunk  Him. 

(3)  Yet  He  will  approach  His  Father  rather  than 

us :  not  one  word  against  us  was  wrung  from 
Him. 

5.  Fifth  word.   I  thirst.   Light  glimmers — His  white- 

ness   red -streaked  —  His   voice  beautiful,  but 
faint. 

(1)  Revelation  of  His  true  Human  Nature. 

(2)  He  thirsts  for  more  suffering. 

(3)  He  thirsts  for  more  souls,  and  is  disappointed 

with  the  scanty  draught ;  so  few,  and  those 
so  ungenerous. 

6.  Sixth  word.     It  is  finished.     Vinegar  and  gall — 

the  sweat — St.  John  wipes  His  feet — coming  of 
death — voice  very  faint. 

(1)  We  repay  His  love  with  vinegar  and  gall,  and 

thus  our  malice  is  finished. 

(2)  The  work  His  Father  gave  Him  is  finished ; 

think  of  Him  in  the  temple  at  twelve  years 
old. 

(3)  Our  redemption  is  finished :  oh !  the  joy  of 

this  as  in  His  Sacred  Heart  He  saw  each 
one  of  us. 

7.  Seventh  word.     Father,  into  Thy  hands  I  com- 

mend My  Spirit.    Silence — His  Wounds  grow 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       219 

red — He  lifts  His  weary  head — earth  quakes, 
rocks  are  rent,  air  is  darkened,  and  in  the  midst 
of  all  that  the  great  God's  loud  cry. 

(1)  He  is  going   home — it  is  to  His  Father — so 

creation  after  all  is  no  home  for  the  Creator; 
yes,  there  is  still  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

(2)  He  is  the  more  homeless,  as  He  has  just  given 

His  Mother  away  to  us. 

(3)  The  model  of  deathbeds :  trust  in  God  is  the 

last  of  all  things,  and  the  whole  of  all  things. 

II.  Death  is  drawing  nigh  ;  watch 

1.  The  fountain  of  salvation  bleeding  away  in  human 

blood. 

2.  The  eternal  ending,  Life  unbeginning  succumbing 

now  to  death. 

3.  Omnipotence  engulfed  in  the  weakness  of  the  last 

faint  of  mortality. 

4.  The  King  of  kings  the  slave,  with  all  men  and  all 

things  for  His  rightful  owners. 

5.  The  Creator  held  to  die  by  His  creatures,  by  nails 

through  Hands  and  Feet. 

6.  The  perfection  of  beautiful  love  pressed  and  tor- 

tured to  death  by  unmitigated  diversified  hatred. 

7.  The  All-holy  indistinguishably  confounded  among 

sinners — it  is  hard  to  identify  Him. 

III.  Death  lays  hands  upon  Him. 

1.  Creation  is  first  silent,  then  broken  up ;  its  mate- 

rial horror ;  what  was  it  among  angels  in  the 
depths  of  their  intelligences  ? 

2.  Angels  are  withheld,  yet  their  forms  are  gleaming 

like  bristling  silver  as  they  lean  eagerly  out  of 
the  gloom  towards  the  cross ;  but  the  dead  burst 
out  of  their  tombs. 


220  PART  II. 

3.  God — all  signs  of  Him  are  absolutely  invisible  •, 

the  world  was  never  so  left  to  itself. 

4.  The  sweet  patience  and  excessive  love  of  Jesus — 

His  Heart  all  on  fire  that  moment :  oh ! 
those  flames  shall  one  day  burn  up  the 
world. 

5.  The  depths   of   Mary's   martyr  heart,   firm   to 

receive  the  blow  of  the  last  faint  breath. 

6.  Time  and  eternity  come  to  take  their  law  from 

His  lips  in  death. 

7-  Actual  separation  of  Soul  and  Body.  He  bowed 
His  Head,  His  Feet  turned  slightly  on  the  nail 
that  fastened  them.  Mary !  thou  art  childless : 
the  Babe  of  Bethlehem  is  dead,  thy  beauty,  thy 
wonder,  thy  love.  He  is  dead.  The  earthquake 
passed  away,  the  darkness  rolled  off;  there  arose 
a  cool  fresh  wind,  which  blew  over  the  face  of 
the  earth,  and  round  the  cross,  and  stirred  His 
harr.  See !  it  lifts  the  few  locks  not  matted 
with  blood,  and  gives  a  momentary  look  of  life 
to  His  Face.  But  the  rocks  of  Calvary,  the 
ears  of  John,  the  Heart  of  Mary,  nay,  the  very 
silence  of  the  air,  still  rung  with  the  Creator's 
cry  ;  nay,  at  this  moment  the  world  over  many 
a  Christian  deathbed  is  faintly,  sweetly  echoing 
back  that  word,  Father !  into  Thy  hands  I  com- 
mend My  Spirit! 

IV.  The  thought  which  at  the  foot  jof  the  Cross  over- 
whelms the  individual  soul. 

1.  A  God  is  dead  for  me :  the  occupation  of  all  holy 

souls  on  earth. 

2.  A  God  is  dead  for  me:   the  ravishment  of  the 

angels  in  heaven. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      221 

3.  A  God  is  dead  for  me :  the  endless  despair  of  the 

lost. 

4.  A  God  is  dead  for  me :  and  ready  to  die  for  me 

again,  and  as  many  times  in  number  as  my  sins 
are  numerous,  rather  than  that  I  should  be  lost. 

5.  A  God  is  dead  for  me :  and  I  know  myself  to  be 

what  I  am. 

6.  A  God  is  dead  for  me:    and   He   knows  what 

I  am  in  His  sight,  so  much  more  than  what 
I  am  in  my  own. 

7.  A  God  is  dead  for  me :  and  for  this  was  needed 

(1.)  A  God's  wisdom  to  plan  it.  (2.)  A  God's 
power  to  execute  it.  (3.)  A  God's  love  to  suffer 
it.  (4.)  An  incarnate  God's  mind  to  conceive  it. 
(5.)  A  supernatural  gift  of  faith  to  be  able  to 
believe  it.  (6.)  An  inability  on  the  part  of  all 
creation  to  repay  it.  (7.)  The  hardness  of  a  re- 
probate heart  not  to  be  touched  by  it.  He  was  the 
Man  of  Sorrows  because  He  was  the  God  of  Love ! 
V.  Forthwith  the  soul  under  the  pressure  of  that 
thought,  a  God  dead  for  me,  begins  to  sink  out 
of  its  depth — the  seven  descents  of  the  soul  in 
the  deeps  of  the  Passion. 

1.  Wonder — which  is  part  of  contemplation  and  of 

the  Beatific  Vision,  arising  from  the  thought  of 
Who  suffered,  what  He  suffered,  how  He  suffered, 
for  whom  He  suffered. 

2.  Exultation — that  it  is  so  divine  a  work,  so  much 

our  concern,  so  abundant,  oh !  such  a  grand 
glory  of  God. 

3.  Liquefaction — all  dispositions   running  into  one, 

barriers  melting  down — it  was  all  with  such  in- 
tense love  of  us,  and  so  pathetically,  so  beauti- 


222  PART  II. 

fully  done,  so  unparalleled,  and  simply  like 
Himself. 

4.  Conflagration — heart  growing  hot,  each  affection 

ready  to  ignite,  each  faculty  of  mind  getting  hot 
as  if  it  were  an  affection,  in  an  outburst  of  fire, 
•     consuming  world,  sin,  self,  and  even  imperfect 
goodness. 

5.  Foolishness    of   love — fire   like   wine,   wine    too 

strong  for  the  soul,  half  involuntary  gestures 
and  exclamations,  holy  indiscretions, — yet  wis- 
dom of  much  of  the  seeming  folly — like  foreign 
ways  which  men  laugh  at,  heaven  the  foreign 
country  from  which  they  come. 

6.  Contemplative  Union — annealed,  steadfast,  fixed 

gaze,  supernatural  tranquillity  of  will,  close  union, 
— real  contact  with  Christ  calms  weak  trans- 
ports, and  effaces  previous  signs  of  mortal  want 
of  self-collection,  and  of  inebriation, — strong 
efficacious  languor,  like  the  weakness  out  of 
which  His  loud  cry  came. 

7.  Possession — the  Passion  wholly  possessing  mind, 

heart,  will,  even  body ;  Jesus  possessing  the  soul, 
the  soul  in  another  sense  possessing  Jesus, — 
espousals,  mystical  marriage,  the  boundary  of 
heaven  and  earth  worn  indistinguishable  by 
fretting  flames  of  love. 

Each  of  these  seven  descents  has  been  like  a  fall 
from  the  starry  heights  of  heaven,  and  yet  far  down 
and  down  and  down  I  see  angels  in  the  darkness,  just 
visible  by  the  light  they  shake  from  off  their  wings,  and 
as  they  rise,  they  tell  me  they  are  faint  with  their  long 
breathless  fathoming,  and  they  have  seen  no  end,  they 
verily  believe  there  is  none,  to  the  ABYSS. 


IL 
CALVARY. 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE    PASSION: 

ITS  HISTORICAL,  DOCTRINAL,  AND 
MYSTICAL    CHARACTER. 

JESUS  CHRIST  and  Him  Crucified — this  is  the  object  of 
our  present  contemplations.  In  an  age  of  abounding 
knowledge,  this  is  the  knowledge  which  concerns  us 
most  of  all.  It  was  the  one  sufficient  science  which 
St.  Paul  desired  to  know.  We  grow  older ;  and,  as  age 
comes  upon  us,  it  seems  as  if  the  very  years  as  they 
passed  drew  us  closer  to  the  Cross.  Life  extinguishes 
its  own  lights  one  after  the  other,  until  the  darkness 
of  Calvary  is  brighter  than  the  obscurity  of  a  world, 
which  has  first  played  us  false,  and  is  now  deserting 
us.  As  we  grow  older,  we  set  a  greater  price  upon 
fidelity ;  and  where  is  there  such  faithfulness  as  in  the 
Cross  ?  Devotion  to  the  Passion  is  at  once  the  surest 
sign  of  predestination,  and  the  shortest  road  to  heaven. 
Happy  are  they  whom  the  cruelty  and  treachery 
of  life  have  driven  to  the  Cross!  But  happier  far 
are  they  the  chivalry  of  whose  youth  drew  them  there 

223 


224  PART  II. 

in  early  days,  and  who  have  spent  their  lives  in  its 
mysterious  sanctuary !  In  the  cloister  and  in  the 
world,  to  young  and  old,  to  rich  and  poor,  for  clergy 
and  for  laity,  the  Passion  is  the  grand  object  of  devo- 
tion. Its  intensity  was  the  characteristic  of  primitive 
times.  All  that  was  beautiful  in  the  Middle  Ages 
shaped  itself  pre-eminently  upon  the  Passion.  It  has 
been  the  especial  work  of  modern  saints  to  propagate 
and  heighten  this  devotion.  The  Church  herself  is 
perpetually  adding  feast,  and  song,  and  pensive  com- 
memoration, although  it  seemed  long  since  as  if  she 
had  left  herself  no  fuller  means  of  honoring  the 
Passion  of  her  Spouse.  All  this  is  a  warrant  for 
another  devotional  treatise  on  the  Passion.  There  is 
nothing  new  to  be  said  of  it ;  but  every  man  has  his 
own  way  of  saying  old  things,  by  which  he  reaches 
unexpected  places  in  the  hearts  of  men,  and  kindles 
fresh  varieties  of  love.  Let  us  ask  St.  Mary  Magdalen 
to  lend  us  her  heart,  while  we  wade  as  far  as  we  dare 
into  the  depths  of  the  Passion.  Let  us  study  the 
science  of  Jesus  Crucified  with  her  for  our  mistress, 
whose  name  and  memory  perfume  the  whole  Church 
with  the  balm  of  the  Blessed  Passion.  It  is  a  science 
wherein  we  learn  by  prayer,  and  in  whose  deep  places 
our  hearts  see  further  than  our  eyes.  It  will  give 
us  what  in  these  days  we  want  most  of  all,  the 
old  simplicity  of  faith.  What  is  progress  but  an  en- 
tanglement? What  is  the  breadth  of  literature  but  a 
distraction  from  God?  What  are  the  endlessly  suc- 
cessive theories,  each  in  its  turn  claiming  to  be  final, 
but  a  weariness,  under  which  we  grow  reasonably 
impatient?  What  are  the  vaunted  discoveries  of 
science,  but  either  lights  which  blind  by  night,  or 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      225 

heights  from  which  the  horizon  of  our  ignorance  is  for 
ever  widening  ?  What  are  material  prosperities,  but 
a  slavery  of  increasing  wants  increasingly  dissatisfied  ? 
There  is  no  grandeur  in  our  work,  there  is  no  heavenli- 
ness  in  our  repose,  except  through  the  old  simplicity 
of  faith. 

There  are  many  ways  in  which  we  may  treat  of  the 
Passion.  The  majority  of  books  lead  us  through  the 
mysteries  in  detail,  from  the  Last  Supper  or  the  Agony 
in  the  Garden  to  the  Burial  of  Jesus  or  His  Resur- 
rection. Upon  the  whole,  this  is  the  best  way  to 
consider  the  Passion,  because  it  is  the  most  necessary 
to  the  devotion  of  the  faithful.  Every  mystery  has 
its  own  lesson  to  teach,  and  contains  its  own  treasures 
of  prayer  and  contemplation.  We  can  never  under- 
stand the  Passion,  unless  by  repeated  meditation  we 
have  mastered  it  in  detail.  If  then  this  successive 
consideration  of  each  mystery  is  not  the  only  way  of 
handling  the  Passion,  it  is  at  least  the  method  which 
is  most  indispensable.  We  can  do  without  other 
methods;  we  cannot  do  without  this.  But  there  are 
so  many  books  which  follow  this  method,  that  it  is  not 
my  intention  to  add  to  them  by  this  treatise.  I  pro- 
pose to  treat  of  Calvary  after  the  same  fashion  in 
which  I  have  treated  of  Bethlehem.  The  Passion,  like 
the  Sacred  Infancy,  is  not  only  an  assemblage  of  divine 
mysteries,  united  to  each  other  by  a  similitude  of 
spirit  as  well  as  by  the  order  of  time.  It  has  also  a 
unity  of  its  own  as  a  whole.  Like  the  Hidden  Life 
at  Nazareth,  or  the  Three  Years'  Ministry,  it  admits  of 
being  regarded  as  a  constellation  apart.  It  sometimes 
happens  that,  by  exclusive  meditation  on  separate 
mysteries,  we  lose  sight  of  many  important  truths. 
Vol.  I.  P 


226  PART  IT. 

We  have  a  less  distinct  understanding  of  our  Lord's 
Three-and-thirty  Years.  We  do  not  appreciate,  even 
so  far  as  we  might,  the  magnificence  and  the  loveliness 
of  the  divine  works.  Nay,  we  do  not  even  do  such 
justice,  as  it  is  in  our  power  to  do,  to  the  separate 
individual  mysteries,  because  their  connection  with 
other  mysteries,  or  their  position  in  the  constellation 
to  which  they  belong,  assist  us  in  no  slight  degree  to 
the  right  understanding  of  themselves. 

The  way,  then,  in  which  it  is  proposed  to  treat  the 
Passion  in  this  volume,  is  to  look  at  it  as  a  whole,  not 
to  follow  it  in  order  of  time,  nor  to  break  it  up  into 
its  component  mysteries,  such  as  the  Scourging,  the 
Crowning,  and  the  like,  but  rather  to  break  it  up  into 
its  characteristics,  characteristics  which  enter  as  in- 
gredients into  each  of  its  separate  mysteries.  For 
instance,  we  shall  have  to  consider  the  Excess  of  the 
Passion,  its  Bodily  Pains,  its  Mental  Pains,  its  Shame, 
our  Lord's  Outward  Demeanor  and  Inward  Disposi- 
tions, His  Solitariness,  the  Circle  of  Evil  which  sur- 
rounded Him,  His  Divinity  in  the  Passion,  the 
Spectators  of  the  Passion,  the  Shadows  of  Calvary 
which  are  cast  over  the  world  at  this  hour,  and  the 
Abyss  which  the  Death  of  God  opens  to  Contemplative 
Souls.  These  eleven  subjects  will  furnish  us  with  as 
many  chapters,  as  soon  as  we  have  considered  in  this 
preliminary  chapter  the  Passion  generally,  in  its 
historical,  doctrinal,  and  mystical  bearings.  By  this 
means  we  shall  get  a  different  view  of  the  Passion  from 
that  furnished  us  by  meditation  on  its  separate  details, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  view  which  will  give  to  our 
subsequent  meditations  a  light,  a  force,  and  a  touch- 
ingness  beyond  what  they  had  before. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       227 

Let  us  begin  by  making  a  simple  picture  of  the 
Passion  for  ourselves,  one  which  shall  not  distract  us 
by  any  multiplicity  of  detail.  We  stand  upon  the  low 
top  of  Calvary,  that  Calvary  which  in  so  many  senses 
is  the  highest  mountain  in  the  world.  There  is  a 
preternatural  darkness,  like  the  lumiiious  gloom  of  an 
eclipse,  all  round  us.  But  it  is  preternatural,  no  mere 
eclipse.  There  is  silence  there,  only  mingled  with  a 
few  sounds,  there  were  some  people  in  the  darkness 
stirring,  yet  only  stirring  as  if  afruid  to  move.  It 
gradually  grows  lighter.  The  white  roofs  of  a  city,  not 
far  inland  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  Mediterranean, 
become  visible.  As  the  light  waxes  clearer,  sounds 
increase  both  in  number  and  in  loudness.  Slowly 
disclosed  against  the  darkness  is  the  bloodless  Body  of 
the  Son  of  God,  indescribably  venerable  in  the  excess 
of  its  disfigurements,  hanging  on  the  Cross,  facing  the 
west  as  if  in  prophecy  of  its  grand  Christian  future. 
Standing  beneath  the  Cross,  now  wet  with  blood,  is  the 
broken-hearted  Mother,  Mother  of  God,  and  now  also 
Mother  of  men.  There  also  is  the  Virgin  apostle  John, 
with  such  impassioned  calm  upon  his  woe-worn  features 
as  his  knowledge  of  the  secrets  of  the  Sacred  Heart  would 
be  certain  to  imprint  upon  them.  Among  all  the  sons 
of  men  there  are  few  so  great,  so  holy,  so  privileged  as 
he  who  by  his  beauty  took  captive  the  Human  Heart 
of  his  Creator.  There  also  is  the  glorious  Magdalen, 
the  brightest  trophy  of  God's  love,  which  men  take 
heart  when  they  look  upon,  a  very  picture  of  the  utter- 
most forlornness  of  human  sorrow  transfigured  by  the 
radiance  of  adoration  into  more  than  angelic  beauty. 
O  Magdalen !  thou  art  there  to  tell  how  the  hopes  of  all 
men  may  be  so  bold  as  to  take  refuge  upon  Calvary. 


228  PART  II. 

This  is  the  Passion,  the  Passion  consummated. 
This  is  the  grand  event  in  the  world's  history,  giving 
the  law  to  all  other  events  whatever.  This  is  the 
visible  impression  made  on  the  decrees  of  the  Creator 
by  the  free  will  of  the  creature.  This  is  the  incredible 
revelation  of  the  Divine  Perfections,  which  an  angel's 
intelligence  could  never  have  imagined,  and  even  now 
is  unable  to  fathom.  Incredible,  even  when  revealed, 
unless  also  a  supernatural  gift  be  given  with  the 
knowledge,  whereby  we  may  be  strengthened  to  believe 
it.  That  mystery  on  the  hill-top,  which  we  express  by 
the  name  of  Calvary,  is  the  fountain  of  all  supernatural 
things,  flowing  both  before  and  behind.  That  darkness 
has  illuminated  forty  centuries  of  time  already,  before 
it  actually  overspread  the  green  sward  of  the  suburban 
hill.  That  blood  has  inundated  all  the  children  of  those 
centuries,  with  innumerable  graces,  while  it  tvas  still 
unshed  itself.  There  has  not  been  a  grace  in  any 
human  soul  from  Adam  onwards,  but  it  came  from  the 
foresight  of  that  Calvary.  In  all  those  dark,  dreary, 
lagging  ages,  there  has  been  no  lightening  of  any  human 
burden,  no  brightness  in  any  human  destiny,  no 
possibility  of  virtue,  no  struggle  of  manful  hearts 
against  overwhelming  evil,  no  birth  of  infancy,  no  deatli 
of  age,  which  have  not  been  full  of  anticipations- and 
prophecies  of  Calvary.  Even  the  inanimate  creation 
had  i-ome  sort  of  consciousness  that  Calvary  was  the 
centre  of  the  world,  when,  as  old  tradition  held,  the 
waters  of  the  Deluge  drifted  thither  the  body  of  Adam, 
and  entombed  it  in  the  yielding  soil. 

But  if  the  whole  history  of  the  world  previous  to  the 
Passion  is  filled  with  presentiments  of  it,  nay,  is  wholly 
unintelligible  except  by  the  light  of  it,  much  greater  is 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      229 

the  influence  of  the  Passion  upon  the  history  which 
follows.  Henceforth  the  annals  of  the  world  are  little 
more  than  the  chronicles  of  the  Passion.  It  has  im- 
planted new  ideas  in  men's  minds.  It  has  worn  deep 
traces  upon  their  language.  It  has  renovated  their 
philosophy.  It  has  given  another  form  and  a  different 
spirit  to  their  literature.  It  has  enlarged  their  moral 
instincts,  while  it  has  also  refined  and  quickened  them. 
The  victory  of  defeat,  the  triumph  of  self-abasement, 
the  divinity  of  suffering,  the  magnificence  of  shame,  the 
power  of  silence, — all  these  are  ideas  from  the  world 
of  the  Incarnation ;  and  they  have  supplied  men  with 
weights  and  measures,  which,  if  not  in  all  respects 
literally  new,  are  practically  new  from  that  irresistible 
authentication  which  the  Passion  has  conferred  upon 
them.  As  time  goes  on,  the  Passion  will  give  out  from 
itself,  as  its  own  creation,  a  peculiar  civilization.  Great 
social  institutions  shall  be  based  upon  it.  Govern- 
ments shall  acknowledge  it  as  their  authoritative  guid- 
ance. Peace  and  war  shall  often  become  questions  of 
the  Passion.  It  shall  shape  and  fashion  private  life. 
Henceforth,  from  the  day  on  which  the  mystery  is 
accomplished,  the  world  shall  never  get  from  under 
the  influence  of  Calvary.  Civil  history  shall  more  and 
more  tend  to  merge  itself  in  ecclesiastical.  Even  when 
the  outward  monarchy  of  the  Holy  See  shall  appear  to 
have  passed  away,  or  rather  to  have  cast  aside  its 
mediaeval  insignia,  when  the  days  of  Concordats  shall 
have  come,  and  it  shall  be  the  ambition  of  states, 
especially  of  those  which  are  destitute  of  ennobling 
traditions,  to  stand  apart  from  the  Church,  when  the 
empire  shall  dream  that  it  is  glorifying  itself  anew  by 
working  itself  clear  from  the  priesthood,  when  diplo- 


230  PART  II. 

macy  shall  have  had  most  cause  to  congratulate  itself 
on  the  unity  which  the  balance  of  power,  its  own  in- 
vention, has  brought  about,  when  earth  shall  seem 
more  visibly  man's  because  it  is  less  visibly  God's — 
even  then,  more  than  ever,  shall  civil  history  become 
religious.  Alliances,  instincts,  sympathies,  literatures, 
philosophies,  the  temper  of  cabinets,  all  these  shall 
grow  not  only  more  religious  but  even  positively  theo- 
logical. Christ  has  been  crucified ;  and  every  event  in 
the  world  shall  draw  from  this  fact  more  or  less  of  its 
significence.  The  world,  as  it  gets  further  from  Calvary, 
shall  become  more  personal  in  its  hostility  to  Christ. 
The  dominance  of  heresy  is  but  Satan's  protest  against 
Calvary ;  and  when  the  world  comes  to  its  worst,  and 
to  its  end,  it  shall  be  so  influenced  by  Christ  that  it 
shall  instinctively  concentrate  itself  into  an  Antichrist. 
It  is  travelling  thither  daily,  and  in  this  day  it  would 
appear  to  be  attaining  its  end  with  more  than  usual 
celerity. 

But  from  the  great  outward  world  let  us  come  to 
our  own  secret  selves.  The  sorrow  and  happiness  of 
each  individual  soul  starts  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross. 
However  remote  our  generation  may  be  from  the  era 
of  the  mystery,  whatever  our  lot  may  be  among  the 
seemingly  inexhaustible  diversities  of  human  fortune, 
however  far  off  from  Judea  our  home  may  lie,  and 
however  deeply  hidden  we  may  be  in  the  indistinguish- 
able obscurities  of  private  life,  our  darkness  and  our 
light  come  from  the  top  of  Calvary.  It  is  well  or  ill 
.us  according  as  we  are  in  harmony  with  the 
'assion  jvvhich  was  accomplished  there.  To  that  hill- 
top centuries  ago  came  every  grief  and  joy  of  ours, 
every  word  and  work  and  thought,  every  sin  and  every 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       231 

temptation,  every  secret  shame  and  every  undisclosed 
design.  They  came  there  clearer  than  objects  in  the 
noonday.  They  were  seen  by  the  inward  eye  of 
our  dying  Lord.  They  Avere  understood  as  a  whole, 
as  composing  one  consecutive  biography.  They  were 
weighed  in  detail.  Nothing  escaped  Him.  Grace  was 
apportioned  to  each  of  them.  His  Precious  Blood 
was  offered  and  accepted  for  each.  Sorrows  were 
sanctified  beforehand,  and  joys  came  out  of  the  pure 
superfluous  mercies  of  the  Passion.  Every  excess  of 
His  torments  was  bidden  to  do  its  part,  as  a  motive  of 
more  fervent  love  within  our  hearts :  and  there  were 
colloquies  between  the  Son  and  His  Eternal  Father,  as 
if  our  single  soul  were  the  exclusive  cause  of  all  that 
happened  upon  Calvary,  the  one  engrossing  interest 
regarding  which  the  Divine  Perfections  came  to  recon- 
cile themselves  upon  that  mountain-top.  Our  eternity 
was  negotiated  there,  if  we  may  use  of  these  divine 
things  those  figures  of  vulgar  commerce  which  God 
Himself  by  His  apostle  has  condescended  to  make  use 
of.  Thus  it  comes  to  pass,  that,  even  when  our  life  is 
thickest  and  widest,  there  is  no  earthly  object  of  any 
real  abiding  value  to  us  compared  with  the  Passion  of 
our  dearest  Lord.  All  is  dross  compared  with  it ;  nay, 
all  is  dross  compared  with  the  knowledge  of  it.  It  is 
an  earthly  object  and  yet  a  heavenly  one  as  well.  It 
is  the  peacemaking,  or  rather  the  nuptials,  of  heaven 
and  earth.  In  the  uttermost  distances  of  our  eternal 
life,  where  in  truth  there  are  no  distances,  it  is  the 
Passion  which  will  still  support  us,  the  Passion  which 
will  still  keep  the  Vision  open,  the  Passion  out  of 
which  the  inebriating  torrents  of  God's  splendors  will 
still  renew  our  souls. 


232  PART  II. 

Thus  the  Passion  rules  the  history  of  the  world, 
the  history  of  the  world  before  the  Flood,  of  the  world 
of  the  patriarchs,  of  the  Israelites,  of  the  heathen, 
before  the  coining  of  our  Lord,  and  in  a  still  stricter 
sense  is  it  almost  itself  the  history  of  the  world  from 
the  Crucifixion  to  the  Doom.  Thus  it  is  also  the 
secret  of  all  biographies  of  individual  souls.  All  their 
ruin  comes  from  their  disloyalty  to  the  Passion.  All 
their  holiness  in  time,  and  their  glory  in  eternity,  are 
the  consequences  of  their  loyalty  to  the  Passion. 


III. 

MEDITATIONS  ON  THE  CRUCIFIX. 
1. 

THE   HEAD  AND   EYES. 

Introduction.  Jesus  All  in  All.  The  crucifix  is 
a  revelation.  Our  Lord  said  to  St.  Gertrude,  that  as 
often  as  a  man  looks  tenderly  on  the  crucifix,  Jesus 
looks  tenderly  on  him.  Blessed  Bernard  of  Caroline 
wanted  to  learn  to  read  it.  St.  Philip  Benizi  called 
it  his  book,  kissed  it  and  died.  Consider  St.  Alphonso 
at  seventy-seven  looking  at  his  crucifix,  and  writing 
his  meditations.  "Why  should  earthly  lovers  have  the 
poetry  and  romance  all  on  their  side  ?  Now  come,  let 
us  learn  Jesus.  Mary  will  help  us — how  well  she 
knew  His  blessed  Features.  St.  Peter  too,  with  his 
devotion  to  our  Lord's  Face.  Seek  ye  My  Face ;  Thy 
Face,  Lord,  will  we  seek. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      233 

1. 

THE  HEAD. 

The  voice  of  my  Beloved  knocking:  open  to  me, 
my  sister,  my  love,  my  dove,  my  undefiled:  for  my 
head  is  full  of  dew,  and 'my  locks  of  the  drops  of  the 
night.  His  head  is  as  the  finest  gold :  his  locks  as 
branches  of  palm  trees,  black  as  a  raven.* 
I.  No  golden  crown !  how  is  this  ?  He  is  King  of 

the  world. 

II.  Crown  of  thorns — mud — blood — handfuls  of  hair 
gone — Head  swollen — bruised — aching. 

III.  Our  hearts  the  garden  where  those  thorns  were 

grown — blame  not  the   innocent  earth   or  its 
guiltless  fields. 

IV.  That  head    which   Mary   nursed,   the    hair  she 

smoothed,  the  brow  she  washed,  and  then  dared 
to  kiss. 

V.  Watch  Him !  He  droops  His  head  to  die — He 
droops  it  to  us  as  a  father  to  his  children,  that 
we  may  kiss  Him. 

VI.  Look  upon  Him  once  again,  and  now  with  the 
eye  of  faith,  and  not  of  sight — bright  upon  His 
throne,  flashing  in  the  light ;  Mary  is  wrapt 
in  exultation,  wondering  angels  worship,  saints 
rejoice:  Jesus,  dear  Jesus!  we  would  see  that: 
we  would  go  thither :  ah !  sweetest  Lord !  Thou 
canst  do  this  for  us,  and  Thou  wilt ! 

*Cant.  v.  2,  11. 


234  PAET  II. 

2. 

THE    EYES. 

I.  Once  the  joy  of  Mary,  and  the  wonder  of 
Joseph ;  the  sunshine  of  Bethlehem  and  Naza- 
reth, the  light  across  the  wilderness ;  the  rev- 
elations their  looks  made  of  the  joyous  secrets 
of  His  Sacred  Heart. 
II.  The  vigils  they  kept  for  us. 

III.  The  tears  they  shed  in  infancy,  for  Lazarus,  and 

over  Jerusalem. 

IV.  The  looks  upturned  to  Him  in  prayer. 

V.  The  wistful   look  on  the  young   man,  and  the 

converting  look  on  Peter. 
VI.  The  scene  before  Him  on  Calvary. 
VII.  The  blows,  spittle,  and  blood  :  yet  it  is  He  who 

gave  sight  to  others. 

VIII.  Sun  and  moon  darken  as  His  eyes  fade. 
IX.  His  eyes  turned  to  Mary  on  Easter  morning ; 

in  heaven  now,  they  are  turned  on  us. 
Oh  shall  we  one  day  see  them,  and  live  and  love  in 
their  sweet  light?  Mine  eyes  have  failed  with  weep- 
ing*— His  eyes  are  as  doves  upon  brooks  of  waters 
which  are  washed  with  milk  and  sit  beside  the 
plentiful  streams. f  Oh  my  Jesus,  give  us  the  gift  of 
tears,  affectionate  tears,  holy  tears.  Dearest  Lord !  we 
have  not  loved  Thee  ;  no !  hitherto  we  have  not  loved 
Thee,  but  we  will  love  Thee  now :  make  us  love  Thee, 
make  us  love  Thee  more  and  more.  Thy  servants 
sometimes  ask  many  things  of  Thee,  but  we  will  ask 
but  one — Love,  Lord,  love,  love,  and  then  more,  and 
then  eternal  love ! 

*  Lament,  ii.  11.  t  Cant.  v.  12. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       235 
3. 

THE   LIPS,  AND  MOUTH,   AND   CHEEKS. 

I.  Filled  with  earth  and  blood  in  the  garden :  once 

with  the  breasts  and  milk  of 'Mary. 
II.  The  spittle  of  the  soldiers  mingling  with  His  own. 

III.  The  blows  breaking  His  lips,  and  making  them 

deformed  and  swollen :  sweet  lips  that  spoke 
words  of  peace  and  love  divine:  His  cheeks 
which  Mary  fondled. 

IV.  The  kiss  of  Judas :  the  kisses  of  Mary. 

V.  The  sighs  that  come  from  that  sacred  mouth  upon 

the  cross. 
VI.  The  white  parched  lips,  once  red  and  plump  at 

Bethlehem. 
VII.  The  burning  thirst,  the  vinegar  and  gall. 

Evil  words,  detractions,  impurities,  oaths,  &c. 

4. 

THE   TONGUE. 

I.  A  hidden  member,  sheltered  from  the  assaults  of 

blows,  &c.,  and  our  teacher. 

II.  Why  He  kept  it  without  suffering  till  the  last, 
except  His  Heart  (and  that  too  was  wounded 
inwardly)  :  that  He  might  with  it  penetrate  the 
ear  and  heart  of  the  Eternal  Father,  to  pray  for 
His  murderers,  to  absolve  the  thief,  to  bequeath 
His  Mother,  to  show  the  greatness  of  His  woes, 
to  proclaim  His  dear  thirst  of  souls,  to  teach  us 
what  to  say  when  we  too  come  to  die.  Oh  what 
love !  For  our  sake  He  keeps  it,  not  for  His 
own. 


236  PART  II. 

III.  His  thirst — the  bloody  sweat  the  night  before — 

jaws  dry — tongue  swells — no- drop  of  water — 
Mary  cannot  reach — see  a  dying  man,  when  his 
tongue  is  dried  up!  Ah!  what  suffering  was 
the  drink  they  gave  Jesus. 

IV.  Our  tongues — how  are  they  employed  ?  they  are 

Mary's  lap  on  which  Jesus  lies  at  Holy  Com- 
munion— Oh  awful  sins  of  the  tongues  of  men  ! 
V.  What  is  the  tongue  of  Jesus  doing  now?  what 
will  it  say  to  us  when  the  last  day  comes  ? 


5. 

THE   FACE. 

I.  The  appearance  of  It.  (1)  The  forehead,  (2)  the 
eyebrows,  (3)  the  eyes  and  eyelids,  (4)  the 
cheeks,  (5)  the  lips,  (6)  the  nostrils,  (7)  the 
chin,  (8)  the  beard,  (9)  the  long  flowing  hair :  the 
horror  of  this  to  the  angels,  who  knew  that  Face 
to  be  the  beauty,  joy,  and  brightness  of  eternity. 
II.  How  Mary  looked  upon  that  face  when  it  was 
small  and  infantine.  Will  she  forgive  me  who 
have  now  covered  that  Face  with  such  a  fearful 
veil  of  shame  and  of  confusion  ? 

III.  Implore  the  Eternal  Father  to  look  upon  the  dis- 

figured Face  of  His  only  begotten  Son.  Jesus 
offers  it  for  our  sins,  offers  it  to  obtain  pardon 
and  grace  for  us. 

IV.  But  see !  the  Face  moves,  the  eyes  close,  it  is  no 

longer  uplifted  heavenwards,  it  droops,  it  sinks 
upon  the  breast,  oh  awfullest  of  all  awful  things 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       237 

that  ever  were  on  earth !  Jesus  breathes  his  last 
— God  is  dead  ! 

V.  Now  I  will  think  of  my  deathbed — Oh  may  I  see 
that  Face  then,  shining,  beaming,  smiling  on  me ! 
Say  for  ejaculation — Blessed  be  the  beautiful 
Face  of  my  Jesus  to  all  eternity ! 


6. 

THE   EARS. 

I.  The  delicacy  and  tenderness  of  them.  The  misery 
of  noise  to  the  sick  and  dying.  The  roar  of 
the  blaspheming  multitude,  like  a  pack  of  cruel 
howling  wolves  in  the  ears  of  Jesus.  Noise, 
cruelty,  hatred,  sin,  all  so  many  causes  of  pain. 

II.  The  names  they  call  Him  : 

1.  Malefactor — He  who  has  done  all  things  well. 

2.  Imposter — He  who  was  eternal  truth,  and  kind 

teacher  of  truth  to  all. 

3.  Guilty  of  death — He  was  life,  and  gives  life  to 

us,   and   was   that   hour   giving   His   dear  life 

for  us. 

So  the  streets,  the  judgment-hall,  and  Calvary 
resounded — and  how  do  we  bear  one  word  of  just 
reproof?  Think  too  of  the  sins  committed  with  our 
ears. 

III.  There  is  a  heart  breaking  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross ! 

Oh  the  deep  sighs,  the  stifled  sobs  that  come  from 
it;  they  are  darts  of  fire  entering  in  at  the  ears 
of  Jesus,  and  piercing  His  Sacred  Heart.  Think 
of  the  sighs  of  the  poor  in  our  ears. 


238  "  PART  n: 

IV.  Where  are  the  ears  of  Jesus  now?  (1)  in  heaven, 
hearing  what  we  ask,  and  what  Mary  is  asking 
for  us,  (2)  in  the  tabernacle,  drinking  in  the  acts 
of  love  that  we  may  make. 


7. 

THE  ARMS. 

I.  What  they  suffered  in  the  garden  with  the 
thick  ropes — tied  in  front  of  Him,  then  at  the 
scourging  behind  Him — swollen — torn — bleeding 
— weakened. 

II.  He  opens  them  to  embrace  the  Cross,  while  He 
kisses  it  most  tenderly,  and  then  takes  it  on  His 
shoulders. 

III.  Those  arms  bound  in  swaddling  clothes — twined 

round  Mary's  neck,  as  the  ivy  twines  round  a 
tree. 

IV.  Dislocated  on  the  Cross — the  whole  weary  weight 

of  His   Body  hanging  upon  them  with  agony 
.unspeakable. 

V.  Look  well  at  those  arms,  omnipotence  is  in  them : 
they  are  the  arms  of  Him  who  made  the  world, 
and  could  move  it  from  its  place  at  this  moment 
— they  could  loosen  themselves  from  the  Cross 
if  they  pleased. 

VI.  How  those  arms  embraced  Mary  at  her  Assump- 
tion :  us  too  He  will  perhaps  raise  up  when  we 
run  and  fall  adoring  at  His  feet  at  our  first  entry 
into  heaven. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      239 
8. 

THE  HANDS. 

I.  The  sweetness  and  the  beauty  of  those  Hands — 
little  in  infancy,  working  in  St.  Joseph's  shop, 
all  the  beneficent  miracles  and  works  of  the 
thirty -three  years,  lifted  up  in  prayer  for  us,  laid 
on  little  children's  heads. 

II.  Handcuffed,  struck  with  lashes,  broken  and 
wounded  with  falls,  swollen  fingers,  bleeding :  so 
they  grasp  the  mock  sceptre,  and  so  the  cruel 
Cross. 

III.  The  nailing  to  the  Cross,  the  agony  of  the  re- 
doubled blows,  the  dislodging  of  the  nerves,  the 
jostling  of  the  Cross  into  its  place,  the  burning 
wounds. 

'IV.  Those  Hands  created  me;  those  Hands  elevated 
the  Host  at  the  first  Mass ;  those  Hands  are 
above  me  in  the  confessional,  though  I  see  them 
not. 

V.  Those  Hands — how  beautiful  and  bright  in  heaven 
now,  angels  adore  them,  they  put  the  crown  on 
Mary's  Head,  oh  ravishing  sight ! 

VI.  To  be  at  the  Right  Hand  is  all  our  joy,  our  bliss. 
Ah !  may  we  be  allowed  to  kiss  the  shining 
wound  on  that  Right  Hand,  when  we  are  admitted 
to  the  peace  and  joy  of  Heaven ! 


240  PART  II. 

9. 

THE   BREAST. 

I.  The  Breast  of  the  infant  Jesus,  rising  and  falling 

— Mary's  love  of  it. 

II.  St.  John  reclining  on  it,  the  heat  he  felt  in  it; 
St.  Philip,  the  beatings  of  the  Sacred  Heart. 

III.  Howwe  look  at  the  blue  sky,  and  think  of  heaven 

behind  it ;  so  at  the  white  breast  of  Jesus — the 
Eternal  God  there  as  in  a  treasure-house — how 
frail  a  wall !  yet  who  would  dare  to  break  it 
through  ? 

IV.  The  Breast  of  Jesus  as  it  was  seen  upon  the  Cross 

— outrages  in  the  garden — stamping  on  it — 
lashes  of  scourging — distention  from  outstretched 
arms.  • 

V.  The  Breast  of  Jesus  dead  on  Mary's  lap. 
VI.  The   Breast  of  Jesus   now  in  glory — the  Sacred 
Heart  beats   there  once  more — rises   and   falls 
with  love  of  Mary  and  love  of  us. 

10. 

THE   FEET. 

I.  Feet  of  the  Infant  Jesus — return  from  Egypt — 

three  days'  loss  in  Jerusalem. 
II.  Feet  of  the   Boy  in  Joseph's  shop,  or  fetching 

water  from  the  well. 

III.  Feet  of  the  Man — weary,  sore,  throbbing,  cold, 
hot. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      241 

IV.  Feet  of  Jesus  with  Magdalen  kissing  them,  &c. 
V.  Feet  of  Jesus  on  the  Cross — dragged  down  with 
ropes, — broken,  wounded,  nailed,  the  weight  of 
the  Body  resting  on  them. 

VI.  Feet  of  Jesus  ascending,  leaving  prints  behind. 
VII.  Feet  of  Jesus  in  glory — shall  we  one  day  print  a 
kiss  of  burning  love  upon  them  ? 


IV. 
OUR  LORD'S  INNOCENCE. 

Do  we  not  feel  how  the  love  of  Jesus  is  growing 
into  us  with  our  meditations  on  His  Passion  ?  If  our 
hearts  do  not  burn,  there  is  something  like  burning 
beginning  in  them.  That  woe-worn  Face  is  getting  so 
worn  into  our  hearts  that  we  shall  hardly  love  His 
Easter  beauty. 

I.  Manifold  views  of  the  Passion — enough  to  distract 
the  contemplations  of  an  angel. 

1.  The  awful  profane  wickedness  and  diabolical  in- 

spiration of  it. 

2.  Its  crowded  and  multiform  cruelty. 

3.  The  venerable  glory  of  His  everlasting  Divinity. 

4.  The  extreme  human  sweetness  of  His  demeanor. 

5.  But  there  is.  another  point,  which  I  venture  to 

think  was  exceedingly  foremost  in  our  Lady's 
mind,  almost  jealously   prominent — His  inno- 
cence.    Rightly  considered,  it  is  the  most  heart- 
breaking thing  about  the  Passion. 
Vol.  I.  Q 


242  PART  II. 

II.  Innocence  on  earth. 

1.  Its   look   of   strangeness   and   of  wonderfulness, 

We  never  saw  any  one  who  was  quite  innocent 
except  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

2.  Its  look  of  exile — there  is  something  heavenly  in 

slavery  detained  on  earth. 

3.  Its  look  of  peril,  yet  of  helplessness. 

4.  Its  look  of  exquisite  reproachfully  unreproachful 

pleading.  There  is  some  hidden  sympathy 
between  innocence  and  silence.  It  ought  to  be 
eloquent  as  an  angel,  but  it  is  silent  as  God. 
And  yet  there  is  a  look  of  guilt  about  its  silence 
which  is  in  reality  the  artlessness  of  its  sim- 
plicity— or  the  holy  trouble  of  its  humility. 

5.  The  way  in  which  Jesus  and  Mary  loved  it  in 

each  other,  because  it  was  their  exclusive  wealth 
on  earth. 

III.  Innocence  suffering. 

1.  Horror  of  innocence  suffering  at  all:  e.g.  a  child, 

a  baby  in  its  agony. 

2.  Innocence   treated  as  guilt,  yet  it  was  the  very 

artifice  of  love  in  his  Passion  to  clothe  the 
innocent  with  guilt. 

3.  Innocence  enveloped  in  rudest,  maddest  violence. 

4.  Innocence  tortured  with  cruelty. 

5.  The  peculiar  agony  of  injustice  to  the  delicate 

sense  of  innocence.  Innocence  is  so  gentle,  so 
un-sel  fdefend  ing. 

IV.  Quid  mali  fecit?    Pilate  certainly  was  not  blinded 

by  hatred   as  the  Jews  were:    but  yet  what 
spiritual  discernment  had   he? — imagine   it — 
dream  it — and  yet  he  discerned  His  innocence. 
1.  -His  face  was  piteous  then,  yet  not  wholly  dis- 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       243 

figured.  Yes  truly :  what  evil  lias  F^  done  ? 
name  it. 

2.  The  mis(rable  Pilate  saw  all  His  spotlessness  in 

the  silent  face.  Pilate  forsooth  falls  in  love 
with  innocence,  and  says,  Innocens  ego  sum. — 
St.  Matt,  xxvii.  Oh,  if  we  could  but  see  that 
face  in  vision  for  one  moment,  could  we  ever 
sin  again,  or  ever  cease  to  love  ? 

3.  They  chose   Barabbas:  I  was  going  to  say  this 

was  a  wickedness  without  name — but  we  had 
best  say  little  about  it :  alas  !  our  choices  have 
been  the  worst  features  of  our  life.  Dear  Jesus ! 
how  many  Barabbases  have  we  preferred  to 
Thee! 

4.  Why  does  He  not  speak !     One  word,  a  tone,  a 

sound,  would  have  made  that  beauty  irresistible: 
it  would  have  calmed  that  raging  sea  of  hatred, 
it  would  have  cowed  the  multitude  into  adoring 
love.  There  were  mothers  in  the  crowd,  yet 
no  one  saw  what  to  Mary  was  so  infinitely 
beautiful. 

5.  Yet,  oh !  do  not  speak,  lest  Thou  shouldst  clear 

Thyself — and  then  what  should  we  do?  oh,  it  is 
almost  a  relief  to  us,  a  joyous  deliverance  from 
our  suspense,  to  hear  that  discordant  crucifige  ! 
As  in  the  agony  in  the  garden,  our  salvation 
seemed  for  a  moment  to  tremble  in  the  balance 
— for  they  might  have  let  Him  off:  but  if  His 
Father  would  not  hear  Him  then,  will  He  hear 
the  Jews  now  ? 

V.  Nullam  causam  invenio.  A  third  time  Pilate  said, 
Quid  mail  fecit  ?  Then,  I  find  no  cause.  A  third 
time — he  could  not  believe  the  Jews  would  still 


244  PART  II. 

pp.r<5ist — to  him  the  face  was  such  conviction.  Yes, 
the  oeauty  of  that  face  gave  a  kind  of  obstinacy 
even  to  that  weak  and  vacillating  judge. 

1.  Are  we  getting  frightened  at  the  innocence  of 

Jesus  ?  at  least  we  are  eager  to  tell  Pilate  that 
he  is  wrong  with  his  nullam  causam.  O  Pilate, 
thou  art  blinded  by  His  beauty  ! 

2.  All  the  sins  of  the  world  are  on  Him — is  not  that 

guilt  f 

3.  He  alone  can  expiate  them — is  not  that  cause? 

and  cause  of  death  also,  for  so  only  can  He 
expiate  them.  Now  again  we  are  uncertain: 
will  Pilate  give  way  against  his  own  conviction 
of  His  innocence?  But  they  were  instant  with 
loud  voices  requiring  that  He  might  be  cruci- 
fied. And  their  voices  prevailed,  and  Pilate 
gave  sentence  that  it  should  be  as  they  required 
(St.  Luke  xxiii.  23,  4), — and  as  we  require,  oh, 
yes !  and  as  we  require.  Ah  !  if  there  is  a  neces- 
sity on  earth,  it  is  salvation. 

4.  Dearest  Jesus!     Yet  His  innocence  so  works  in 

us,  that  in  hot  times  of  prayer,  we  feel  as  if  we 
could  almost  sacrifice  ourselves  to  save  Him. 
But,  no !  O  Mother  Mary !  be  content.  Jesus 
has  made  it  a  greater  love  in  us  to  let  ourselves 
be  saved  by  Him  than  that  we  should  save  Him 
from  the  cross. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       245 

V. 
THE  FACE  OF  JESUS. 

Passiontide  veils  the  face  of  the  crucifix,  only  that 
it  may  be  more  vivid  in  our  hearts. 
I.  The  face  of  Jesus  in  the  Thirty-three  Years. 

1.  The  most  beautiful  of  all  the  beauties  earth  has 

ever  seen. 

2.  As  predestined  by  God,  and  the  model  of  all 

beauty. 

3.  The  devotion  of  Mary  and  Joseph  to  it. 

4.  The  devotion  of  Peter  and  the  apostles. 

5.  In  Infancy,  Boyhood  and  Manhood. 

II.  His  face  during  the  Passion. 

1.  In  the  agony  in  the  garden. 

2.  Before  His  various  judges. 

3.  When  He  met  His  Mother. 

4.  On  the  cross. 

5.  In  death,  on  Mary's  lap. 

III.  What  thoughts  this  gives  us. 

1.  Hatred  of  our  own  sins  which  caused  it. 

2.  A  truer  idea  of  the  Father's  anger  with  sin. 

3.  Intense  love  of  our  Blessed  Lord. 

4.  Deepest  compassion  with  His  Mother. 

5.  A  yearning  to  be  more  holy. 

IV.  His  face  now. 

1.  It  is  being  seen  in  numerous  particular  judgments 

momentarily. 

2.  The  saints  have  sometimes  seen  it  as  it  is,  and 

nearly  died  of  ravishment. 

3.  It  is  the  bliss  and  ecstacy  of  Heaven. 


246  PART  IL 

4.  It  is  the  most   beautiful   sight  God  sees  outside 

Himself,  and  yet  in  so  strange  and  wonderful  a 
sense  hardly  outside  Himself. 

5.  It  is  there  in  the   Blessed   Sacrament,  with  the 

eyes,  the  mouth,  the  brow  :   most  thrilling,  most 

hushing  mystery. 

Oh,  to  look  upon  that  face  eternally,  how  sweet  a 
destiny  !  A  humble,  reverent,  familiar,  affectionate 
devotion  to  the  Passion  is  one  chief  sign  of  our  pre- 
destination to  see  the  face  of  Jesus  for  evermore ! 


VI. 

THE  DESERTION  OF  THE  APOSTLES. 

It  is  Passion  Sunday  ;  we  must  take  our  lesson  from 
the  Passion. 

We  have  a  great  deal  to  do  to  be  saved :  and  God 
does  not  save  us  without  ourselves,  i.e.  we  must  do  our 
part,  we  must  correspond  to  grace.     Now  here  comes 
a  most  important  question :   to  what  amount  can  we 
trust  ourselves,  and  what  can  we  trust  ourselves  for  ? 
I.  Our  salvation  looks  safer  the  longer  we  persevere 
in  the  spiritual  life.     Does  this  come  from  any 
change  in  ourselves ;  any  change  which  we  may 
safely  trust  ?     Grounds  of  trust  are — 

1.  Strength   of   character,   which    may    be    partly 

natural  and  partly  acquired. 

2.  Habits  of  virtue,  which  certainly  maice  the  exer- 

cise of  virtue  easier. 

3.  Great  graces,  which  are   not  only  signs  of  pre- 

destination, but  inward  revolutions. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      247 

4.  Perseverance  in  good,  up  to  the  silencing  of  temp- 

tations. 

5.  Amount  of  actual  sincere  love  of  God,  which  even 

humility  must  admit. 

All  this  is  true ;  but  what  I  want  to  bring  out  is 
that  it  is  not  our  own  but  God's,  and  more  than  this, 
that  it  is  not  a  gift  of  God  which  we  hold  in  our  own 
dominion — it  is  not  so  much  something  done  and  over, 
as  a  present  grace,  depending  upon  grace — and  there- 
fore, while  it  is  an  immense  reason  for  infinitely  trust- 
ing God,  it  is  no  just  reason  at  all  for  trusting  ourselves. 
II.  I  infer  this  from  that  most  painful  mystery  of  the 
Passion,   the   desertion   of   Jesus   by   His   own 
Apostles. 

1.  It  is  probable,  from  what  we  know  of  the  usual 

customs  of  divine  grace,  that  they  had  beautiful 
natural  characters  to  start  with,  and  had  led 
pure  lives. 

2.  The  grandeur  of  their  vocations,   next  to  the 

Divine  Maternity. 

3.  Their    novitiate    with    Jesus,    its    inexhaustible 

benedictions. 

4.  The  bewildering  amount  of  love  He  had  lavished 

on  them. 

5.  The  immense  enthusiastic  love  they  had  for  Him 

— no  saints  have  attained  it. 

III.  Yet — the  most  melancholy  incredibility  we  have 
ever  been  called  upon  to  believe — they  fell — 

1.  Fell  after  all  those  repeated  miracles,  after  two 

in  the  garden  itself,  namely,  the  falling  back, 
and  the  healing  of  Malchus'  ear. 

2.  Fell  at  a  small  danger — for  they  were  not  aimed 

at — and  at  the  first  danger. 


248  PART  II. 

3.  Fell  just  when  common  love  and  loyalty  would 

have  called  them  forward,  especially  as  it  was 
all  done  through  the  treachery  of  one  of  their 
own  body. 

4.  Fell  after  solemn  reiterated  warnings  and  solemn 

reiterated  protestations  of  all.  And  in  like 
manner  .said  all  the  disciples  (Matt.  xxvi.  35). 

5.  Fell  just   after  first  Communion — and   that  the 

first  Communion  in  the  world,  just  as  the  first 

man   fell,  and  the  first  among  the  angels  fell. 

Merciful  God !  what  then  have  we  to  trust  to 

but  His  mercy  ? 

Hence  I  infer  that  we  can  trust  ourselves  for  nothing. 
O  dear  Brethren  !  that  I  could  write  this  single  truth 
so  deep  in  your  hearts  that  no  length  of  years  nor 
adventurousness  of  life  should  ever  efface  it,  that  in 
order  to  secure  our  salvation,  life  must  be  one  long, 
unsuspended,  unforgetting  dependence  upon  grace  1 


VII. 
JUDAS. 

I.  Jesus    had    a    secret    sorrow — Judas — He    never 
alluded  to  the  cross  but  often  said,  one  of  you 
shall  betray  Me. 
II.  Judas  in  childhood. 

1.  Winning  ways. 

2.  A  mother's  love. 

3.  A  promise  dear  to  his  mother. 

4.  Little  faults  may  have  preluded  his  great  ones. 

5.  Unsuspectingness  of  his  future  doom. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      249 

III.  Jesus  with  Judas. 

1.  His  first  love  of  Judas. 

2.  The  fall  of  Judas  began  with  taking  scandal,  i.e. 

at  St.  Mary  Magdalen. 

3.  How  Jesus  spares  him  at  the  supper,  not  naming 

him  openly.     Dear  Jesus ! 

4.  Washes  his  feet. 

5.  Communicates  him. 

6.  That  which  thou  dost  do  quickly. 

7.  Then  in  the  garden — horror   of   the  words   of 

Judas — tenete  Eum. 

IV.  Judas'  despair — ah,  where  is  Jesus?      He  takes 

the  money  back,  and  they  jeer  him — how  un- 
like Jesus,  who  would  have  so  soothed  him — 
where  is  Jesus?  (No  soul  so  needed  Him — 
because  of  the  thought  of  Him  no  soul  was  so 
despairing  as  Judas  was  then.}  Gone  to  death 
by  treachery. 
Does  not  all  this  give  me  comfort  ?  Will  He  bear 

with  me  ?     I  don't  know :  I  am  worse  than  Judas,  I 

fear. 

Jesus  was  troubled  in  spirit,  and  the  disciples  looked 

one  upon  another.     (St.  John  xiii.  21,  22.) 

V.  If  we  love  Jesus  we  hate  Judas.     We  should  like 

to  know  what  his  character  was  like,  whether  it 
was  like  ours.  At  least  we  have  resemblances 
to  him. 

1.  He  had  a  sweet  and   potent   call  from  Jesus — 

so  we. 

2.  He  once  loved  Jesus  perhaps — so  we. 

3.  He  got  to  know  Him  on  familiar  terms — so  we. 

4.  He   began  with   venial  sins   and   self-seeking — 

BO  we. 


250  PART  II. 

5.  He  did  not  know  how  hard  his  heart  was  getting 

— so  we. 

VI.  See  life  of  St.  Joseph  of  Cupertino,  which  says 
that  the  loss  of  Judas  was  the  worst  pain  of  the 
Passion. 


VIII. 

HIS  BLOOD  BE  UPON  US  AND  UPON  OUR 
CHILDREN. 

Night  over  the  valley  of  the  Nile — destroying  angel 
— doorposts  stained  with  blood — so  now  it  is  night — 
this  life  is  a  night — incessant  flight  of  the  destroying 
angel  in  company  with  the  angel  of  death — souls 
stained  with  blood.  If  the  Blood  of  Jesus  is  not  on  us 
then,  we  are  lost  to  all  eternity.  But  how  was  this 
mystery  of  the  Precious  Blood  proclaimed  in  the 
Passion  ? 
I.  The  mystery. 

1.  Pilate  washing  his  hands  with  water:  the  Jews 

were  wiser  who  took  blood.  An  act  of  the 
greatest  human  childishness  done  by  the  side  of 
and  in  the  face  of  Divine  Wisdom — Jesus  look- 
ing on,  listening,  silent  as  usual ;  His  eyes  look 
on  the  crowd,  not  with  the  piercing  dignity  of  a 
judge,  nor  even  the  meek  reproachfulness  of  a 
sufferer,  but  with  the  clear  beaming  of  un- 
mingled,  unaccusing  love. 

2.  They  saw  Blood  on  Him,  and  thirsted  for  it  like 

beasts,  yet  did  not  know  what  It  really  was. 

3.  They  had  reached  now  the  height  of  the  sin  of 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       251 

putting  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob 
to  death — universes  populus — yes  !  universus  ! 
what  a  sweet  prophecy. 

4.  They  were  ready  to  be  victims  themselves,  if  only 

they  can  make  Him  a  victim :  oh,  what  wise 
theology,  what  Christian  science  in  all  this  mad 
blind  sin.  They  threw  their  hearts  wide  open, 
turned  God's  grandest  blessing  into  a  curse,  and 
took  it  in,  and  made  it  from  that  time  forth 
their  life,  a  chained  life,  a  life  of  most  horrible 
chaining  and  enchantment. 

5.  The  cry — so  wild,  so  thrilling,  so  enormous,  so 

unanimous !  like  the  cry  from  a  ship  going  down, 
or  the  cries  at  the  deluge  till  Noe  heard  them 
no  more. 

6.  The  silence  after  the  cry,  like  the  silence  which 

Noe  felt,  nay,  heard  above  the  turbid  waters,  for 
there  are  silences  which  are  so  silent  that  they 
can  be  heard  more — the  city  so  silent,  their  own 
hearts  so  hushed  by  the  panic  of  their  own  cry, 
Pilate  so  astounded — it  was  a  wonder  that  an 
angel  did  not  speak,  if  only  to  break  the  intoler- 
able silence.  Perhaps  the  angels  thought  God 
would  speak,  as  over  the  Jordan,  and  when  the 
multitude  said  it  thundered. 

7.  Jesus   in   that   silence — and   the    Holy   Trinity. 

God  even  then  was  silent :  Oh  that  inveterate 
silence  of  God  !  what  an  endless  revelation  it  is ! 
II.  The  Saviour!     We  look  on  that  furious  crowd — 
on  the  blue  vault  of  sky  filled  with  the  noiseless 
shining  of  the  sun — on  the  silent  buildings — how 
dumb  they  look  in  their  brightness, — on  the  cower- 
ing Pilate,  on  the  blue  mantle  of  Mary — then  on 


252  PART  II. 

THE  SAVIOUR  OF  THE  WORLD  with  the  morning 
sun  sinning  whitely  on  Him. 

1.  His  look — how   could   anguish   be  so   beautiful 

when  it  was  visibly  so  bitter  ?  lips  goldened  as 
it  were  by  the  heavenly  words  He  had  for 
years  been  uttering. 

2.  His  silence — He  had  not  sentenced  them,  it  was 

themselves.  He  had  thought  of  this  hour,  when 
He  was  weeping  over  Jerusalem ! 

3.  His  thoughts — angels  adored  His  wisdom,  could 

come  nearer  to  fathoming  that  than  to  fathoming 
the  bitterness  and  yet  the  sweetness  of  His 
thoughts. 

4.  His  Heart — its  love,  its  exultation,  its  faintness, 

its  pang,  its  augmentation  of  love  for  them.  It 
rushed  out  upon  this  crowd  in  augmentations  of 
love  which  were  like  new  creations  for  im- 
petuosity and  magnificence. 

5.  It  was  a  wonder  they  did  not  see  He  was  God. 

Aye,  see  with  the  very  eyes  in  their  heads  that 
He  was  God! 
III.  The  pain  of  that  cry. 

1.  As  an  immense  sin — and  to  Him  a  gigantic  in- 

gratitude. How  ingratitude  crushes  tender  and 
affectionate  natures. 

2.  As  coming  from  those   He  so  specially  loved — 

and  the  love  of  whom  was  communicated  to 
His  Human  Nature  by  His  Divinity. 

3.  As   a  true   prophecy   of  their  future   misery — 

another  wandering  than  that  glorious  one  in 
the  wilderness,  and  with  quite  another  sort  of 
melancholy  miracle  about  it.  Homeless,  un- 
sanctuaried  people ! 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       253 

4.  The  foreseen    sacrilegious  use  of  His   Precious 

Blood — nay,  was  it  not  a  torture  to  Him  that 
the  first  use  of  His  Precious  Blood  should  be  a 
sacrilege?  —  of  His  Precious  Blood  which  He 
loved  so  amazingly,  just  as  He  was  turbatus 
spiritu  (St.  John  xiii.  21),  from  foresight  of 
Judas'  Communion? 

5.  As  an  intense  sorrow  to  His  Mother,  because  she 

loved  her  people,  and  because  it  was  always  an 
incredible  surprise  to  her  to  see  Him  not  loved. 
Dear  Mother !  she  had  been  used  to  it  from  early 
days,  and  yet  could  not  get  used  to  it. 
IV.  The  joy  of  that  cry. 

1.  Because  the  last  obstacle  to  His  Passion  was  now 

removed. 

2.  Because  all  allusion  to  the  shedding  of  His  Blood 

was  a  delight  to  Him,  just  as  a  generous  man 
rejoices  in  the  abundance  he  has  to  give  away. 
The  cry  roused  Him  as  the  trumpet  rouses  the 
warhorse. 

3.  Because  of  the  conversion  of  the  Jews  at  last — 

and  of  many  now,  e.  g.,  three  thousand  by  the 
sermon  of  St.  Peter,  who  is  now  hiding  away  for 
fear  and  shame. 

4.  Because  of  the    fulness    of   the  Gentiles:     He 

saw  the  crowd  of  all  men  :  He  saw  us  with  His 
Blood  upon  us;  the  thrones  of  some  of  us  in 
heaven :  nay,  why  should  I  say  some,  why  not 
all  ?  it  is  my  want  of  faith. 

5.  Exultation  at. the  immensity,  continuity,  complete- 

ness, and  magnificence  of  His  redemption. 
There  are  two  prayers  which  never  cease  from  off  the 
earth ;  one  the  Lord's  prayer,  taught  on  a  grassy  hill  of 


254  PART  II. 

Galilee  notable  for  the  thick  tuftings  of  its  grass,  over- 
looking the  quiet  lake,  the  other  by  a  whole  people  in 
the  frenzy  of  their  sin  in  the  streets  of  the  Holy  City ; 
the  blasphemy  and  curse  have  turned  into  a  blessing 
and  a  worship,  and  a  wild,  wild  prayer  for  the  Precious 
Blood  !  '  All  the  day  and  all  the  night  throughout  the 
whole  earth  the  silent  eloquence  of  Christian  faith, 
and  the  speechless  song  of  Christian  hope,  and  the 
endless  wistful  sigh  of  Christian  humility  are  for  ever 
rising  to  the  throne  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  beauti- 
fully and  adoringly  prolonging  the  cry  of  that  dark 
day  of  poor  Jerusalem :  His  Blood  be  upon  us  and 
upon  our  children. 


IX. 

HE  SAVED  OTHERS ;  HIMSELF  HE  CANNOT 
SAVE. 

Is  it  not  strange  that  such  wicked  works  can  be  so 
beautiful  ?  Yet  are  they  not  beautiful  ?  Oh,  beautiful 
as  some  fragment  of  an  angel's  song !  He  saved  others : 
Himself  He  cannot  save. 

I.  What  He  looked  like  to  those  who  saw  Him  on  the 
cross. 

1.  Description  of  Him  all  disfigured. 

2.  So  changed  from  what  they  had  seen  Him  in  the 

temple,  or  on  Palm  Sunday.  He  was  not  an 
object  of  horror.  Suffering  can  beautify  with 
a  pitiable  beauty.  It  can  make  reverend. 
Even  death  can  beautify.  Its  rigid  repose  can 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      255 

even  be  a  more  graceful  thing  than  the  supple 
grace  of  life. 

3.  At  the  least  He  was  an  object  of  pity :  horror  of 
gibing  the  pitiable,  and  in  the  hearing  of  His 
Mother!    What  a  dreadful  thing  hatred  is!  and 
such  a  hatred  ! 
II.  What  He  looks  like  to  us. 

1.  The  Godhead  shining  through  the  disfigurement. 

2.  His  love  of  men  beautifying  the  very  disfigure- 

ment itself. 

3.  Oh  to  us  such  an  object  of  love,  of  pity  also,  yet 

much  more  of  love  and  of  adoration. 
IH.  He  saved  others. 

1.  What !  did  they  hate  Him  for  saving  men  ? 

2.  But  the  fact,  how  true  it  is !     He  did  indeed  save 

others,  He  saved  us,  perhaps  them ;  some  who 
jeered,  e.g.  the  good  thief,  are  now  with  Him  in 
heaven. 

3.  He  did  not  care  to  save  Himself,  so  long  as  He 

saved  us.  He  never  thought  of  Himself:  this 
was  His  human  character,  Pie  pleased  not  Him- 
self: it  was  this  which  so  touched  St.  Paul. 

IV.  Himself  He  cannot  save. 

1.  Can  this  be  true?     He  is  the  omnipotent  God; 

angels  are  waiting  His  sign. 

2.  Yet  this  is  true.     He  is  helpless ;  He  cannot  save 

Himself;  He  cannot  come  down  from  the  Cross. 

3.  But  what  hinders  ?     Oh  such  a  might  of  love,  of 

love  only,  of  love  for  us. 

V.  We. 

1.  Did  we  then  seem  so  beautiful?  oh  no!  how  far 

from  that ! 

2.  But  we  did  seem  so  pitiable!     He  lost  all  pity 


256  PART  IT. 

for  Himself  and  for  His  Mother,  because  we 

did  look  so  infinitely  pitiable. 
3.  And  yet,  even  after  it  all,  we  can  scarcely  force 

ourselves  to  pity  Him ;  we  can  hardly  strain  a 

tear,  or  force  a  sigh,  because  of  the  pains  of  our 

dear  crucified  Love ! 

How  much  the  Passion  has  saved  us  from  !  Out  of 
what  a  depth  it  has  rescued  us !  Truly  we  can  now 
use  those  merciless  words  of  the  Jews  in  quite  another 
sense.  We  can  take  up  our  crucifix,  and  kiss  the  Five 
Wounds  with  at  least  so  much  love  as  to  grieve  we 
have  not  more  love,  and  then  looking  at  our  Saviour's 
Face  we  can  say,  Yes,  my  Jesus,  my  Lord  and  my  Ged : 
Thou  savest  others,  Thyself  Thou  canst  not  save ! 


X. 

OUR  LORD'S  COMPLAINTS  IN  HIS  PASSION. 

If  one  you  loved  lay  dying,  would  you  rather  he 
were  silent  or  complained  ? '  Sorrow  has  many  ingenious 
questions  to  settle,   but  hardly  any  more  interesting 
than  this. 
I.  The  Doubt. 

1.  How  much  from  one  point  of  view  silence  on  their 

part  enables  us  to  bear  the  sufferings  of  those  we 
love !  Our  heart  is  less  wounded,  and  our  mind 
estimates  the  suffering  less. 

2.  One  of  the  ends  of  the  silence  of  Jesus  was  to 

spare  us.  Had  He  complained  we  should  have 
sickened  with  sorrow  over  His  Passion,  with  too 
much  sorrow  to  have  left  room  for  love. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       257 

3.  Yet  somehow  we  love  the  pain  complaint  gives 

us ;  if  not  a  solace,  it  is  a  pain  such  as  sorrow 
covets. 

4.  There  is  something  graceful  in  the  complaining 

of  those  who  suffer :  something  which  discloses 
the  inward  beauty  of  their  souls :  to  me  it  seems 
of  all  human  sounds  not  only  the  most  beautiful 
but  the  most  dignified  and  the  most  religious. 

5.  It  is  often  an  index  of  great  conformity  to  God's 

Will ;  complaint  is  the  voice  of  patience. 

6.  We  cannot  bear  for  long  the  silence  of  those  we 

love:  looks  speak,  and  sighs  speak,  nay  the 
silence  speaks,  but  love  craves  words. 

7.  In  memory  how  precious,  like  far  off  music,  are 

the  complaints  of  those  we  have  lost. 
II.  Jesus  complaining. 

1.  The  mystery  of  God  complaining :  how  this  would 

strike  a  heathen  in  the  Old  Testament ;  it  reveals 
God  so  marvellously  as  a  God  of  love,  as  the 
God  who  out  of  love  made  us  free,  that  He  might 
want  our  love  the  more,  and  then  is  endlessly, 
pathetically,  almost  humbly  complaining  that 
He  does  not  get  our  love. 

2.  The  special  mystery  of  the  complaints  of  the 

uncomplaining  Jesus;  His  whole  life  was  so 
uncomplaining. 

3.  The  taciturnity  of  the  Word  makes  His  words 

so  precious,  especially  in  the  silent  Passion. 

4.  The  inexhaustible  beauty  of  His  complaints,  so 

like  Him  and  yet  so  unlike ;  somehow  they 
increase  our  devotion  to  His  silence  by  making 
us  feel  it  to  be  so  Godlike. 

5.  The  extreme  unexpected  simplicity  of  His  com- 
Vol.  I.  R 


258  PART  II. 

plaints;  unexpected  because  of  their  plain, 
artless,  spontaneous  humanness.  The  Human 
Nature  united  to  the  Divine  must  have 
had  a  singularly  simple,  translucent,  guileless 
character. 

III.  The  Five  complaints ;  all  of  personal  things  and 
to  persons.  Simon,  sleepest  thou?  Couldst  thou 
not  watch  one  hour  f 

1.  What!    Could  you  not  watch  one  hour  with  Mef 

(1)  Said  to  Peter  by  name  as  the  next  was  to  Judas 

by  name. 

(2)  As  if  Peter  had  only  just  finished  his  protest- 

ations. 

(3)  Surprise.     What  I — as  if  He  had  believed  the 

protestations. 

(4)  Disappointment. 

(5)  Pain,  but  un-upbraiding.     One  hour  /  it  was 

such  a  small  thing  to  do — to  keep  awake  for 
an  hour. 

2.  Judas !     Dost  thou  betray  the  Son  of  Man  with  a 

kiss? 

(1)  Judas  by  name. 

(2)  The  tone  of  the  voice. 

(3)  Its  sweet  gentleness,  as  if  not  angry  but  lov- 

ingly incredulous. 

(4)  The  word  betray. 

(5)  With  a  kiss — had  the  apostles  ever  kissed  Him 

before,  and  on  the  mouth  f  if  so,  how  terrible 
were  Judas'  memories,  if  not,  how  terrible 
was  the  familiarity ! 

3.  Are  you  come  out  as  against  a  thief  with  swords 

and  clubs? 
(1)  Said  to  His  dear  Jews. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       259 

(2)  A  thief — as  if  the  disgrace  affected  Him,  and 

the  sense  of  dishonor. 

(3)  Still  more  that  His  people  should   not  have 

recognized  His  Godhead,  Who  thought  it  not 
robbery  to  be  equal  with  God. 

(4)  With  swords  and  clubs,  when  He  had  always 

been  so  gentle,  and  said,  Look  at  Me,  I  am 
gentle  and  meek. 

(5)  As  if  it  was  pain  to  think  that  they  imagined 

He  was  not  ready  to  die  for  them  without 
any  violence;  this  last  was  the  worst 
wound. 

4.  If  well,  why  smitest  thou  Me?  these  words  are 

naturally  in  St.  John's  Gospel,  because  of  His 
devotion  to  the  Word,  who  for  words  is  now 
smitten. 

(1)  Said  in  the  house  of  Annas. 

(2)  His  sense  of  injustice. 

(3)  He  remembers  all   His   kind  and   beautiful 

words ;  now  it  is  for  His  words  that  He  is 
struck. 

(4)  Sense  of  inhumanity,  the  first  out  of  the  way 

violence. 

(5)  His  sense  of  innocence — if  evil,  give  testimony 

of  the  evil.  He  was  being  judged,  and  He 
thought  of  the  justice  and  the  indulgence  of 
His  own  court  of  justice. 

5.  My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  Me? 

(1)  Speaking  no  longer  to  creatures,  but  to  His 

Father. 

(2)  In  a  loud  voice,  as  if  His  Father  was  so  far 

off,  or  was  getting  deaf  to  Him,  as  creatures 
were. 


260  PART  IT. 

(3)  Amazement.     Forsake! 

(4)  Sense  of  intolerableness. 

(5)  Yet  somehow  this  is  the  most  uncomplaining 

of  the  complaints,  though  the  most  heartrend- 
ing, because  there  is  such  adoration  in  it. 

Note  that  all  the  complaints  are  questions — not 
upbraidings  but  pleadings,  unwillingness  to  believe 
evil,  the  surprises  of  love  at  being  wronged — their  un- 
rhetorical  simplicity  quite  divine. 

O  dearest  Lord  !  how  sweet  to  us  are  Thy  beautiful 
complaints,  the  five  wounds  of  Thy  feelings !  for  we 
seem  to  get  nearer  to  Thee,  or  Thou  to  come  nearer  to 
us,  when  Thou  condescendest  to  complain ! 


XI. 


OUR  BLESSED  LORD  BOWING  HIS  HEAD 
UPON  THE  CROSS  * 

Passage  from  mere  Lent  to  Passiontide — from  ex- 
amining sejf  to  contemplating  Him.  Look  at  Him  on 
the  cross,  feature  by  feature.  The  drooping  of  a  man's 
head,  when  he  dies  sitting  up ;  it  is  as  if  He  were 
pondering  some  difficult  question,  yet  untroubled  and 
unperplexed. 

The  bowing  of  His  head,  His  head  crowned  with 
that  cruel  crown  of  thorns. 

I.  As   if   He  was  weary  and  would  fain  rest — and 
did  He  not  grievously  want  rest?    and  what  a 

*The  last  sermon   which   Fatker    Faber   preached,   Passion 
Sunday,  1863. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       261 

comfortless  deathbed  we  had  given  ?  Compared 
with  this,  there  was  luxury  in  the  ashes  on  which 
saints  have  died.  The  Passion  was  more  fatigue 
than  creation.  How  His  head  must  hvae  ached ! 
How  the  angels  longed  to  hold  it  up ! 

II.  As  if  He  yearned  to  lean  it  on  His  Mother's  ap. 

1.  How  sweet  it  had  rested  there  at  Bethlehem  and 

in  the  wilderness !  What  she  felt  when  she  saw^ 
it  move  and  droop. 

2.  How  it  said  to  her  (Cant,  v.),  Open  to  me,  my 

love,  my  dove,  my  undefiled ;  for  my  head  is 
full  of  dew,  and  my  locks  of  the  drops  of  the 
night. 

3.  How  afterwards  she  touched,  and  pressed,  and 

kissed  the  dead  Head  beneath  the  cross. 

III.  In  token  of  respect  to  His  Father. 

1.  As  if  His  Father  had  spoken,  and  accepted  the 

cross  just  then. 

2.  As  if  now  all  was  consummated — what  an  All! 

what  a  consummation ! 

3.  To  give  death   leave  to   touch   Him,  Who  was 

eternal  Life. 

IV.  As  though  to  welcome  us  and  give  us  leave  to  kiss 

Him. 

1.  The  love  He  had  for  each  of  us  at  that  moment. 

2.  What  is  our  love  for  Him  ?     What  our  delighted 

worship  of  His  Passion  ? 

Dearest  Lord !  Why  do  we  ever  think  of  any  one 
but  Him?  How  can  we  manage  to  love  any  one  but 
Him  ?  Oh,  may  we  come  to  feel  and  to  know  that  we 
have  but  one  faith,  one  hope,  one  love,  one  consolation 
in  weary,  painful  time,  and  one  reward  in  the  grand, 
jubilant  eternity — Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified. 


262  PART  II. 

XII. 

THE  PASSION  OUR  DEVOTION  THE  WHOLE 
YEAR  ROUND. 

Seeming  strangeness  of  speaking  of  the  Passion  at 
Eastertide. 
I.  The  Passion  is  an  abiding  devotion. 

1.  Because  in  it  redemption  was  accomplished. 

2.  Because  the  Sacraments  come  out  of  it. 

3.  Because  Mass  is  a  continuation  of  it. 

4.  Because   it  most  safely  suits   our   condition   on 

earth. 

5.  Because  it  is  a  special  antidote  to  hardness  of 

heart.     Examine  this. 

II.  All  holiness  depends  upon  our  hearts  not  being 
hardened ;  yet  this  is  the  great  difficulty  of  life. 

1.  Because  all  that  is  seen  (world  so  bright,  people  so 

kind  and  good),  hardens  the  heart,  while  what 
softens  it  is  unseen  and  supernatural. 

2.  Sin  breeds  sin,  and  so  habits  are  formed  which 

obscure  the  mind  and  harden  the  heart. 

3.  Low  views  of  sin  from  the  world's  favorite  notion 

that  all  duty  to  God  is  fulfilled  in  duty  to  our 
neighbor. 

4.  The  very  easiness  of  forgiveness  helps  to  harden  a 

wilful  heart. 

5.  Natural  corruption  inclines  that  way,  just  as  water 

gets  cold  if  taken  from  the  fire. 

6.  Because  we  pay  so   little  attention   to   sins  of 

thought. 

7.  Becanse  we  are  so  careless  about  venial  sins,  espe- 

cially those  of  the  tongue  and  untruths. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       263 

8.  We  have  so  little  striving  after  perfection,  and 

consequently  little  knowledge  of  our  own  vile- 
ness. 

9.  Because  even  good  people  act  commonly  from  the 

sole  motive  of  duty,  without  that  of  love. 
III.  Reasons  why  the  Passion  is  so  touching  and  heart- 
softening. 

1.  Because   of  the  atrocity  of  the  sufferings  both 

mental  and  bodily. 

2.  The  unparalleled  heartlessness  of  the  inflicters — 

there  was  every  reason  against  their  doing  it. 

3.  The  enchanting   sweetness   and   patience  of  the 

Sufferer. 

4.  The  thought  that  He  was  God. 

5.  That  all  these  sufferings  were  for  our  sake. 

6.  That  we  have  felt  this  a  hundred  times,  and  yet 

have  so  ill  requited  Him. 

7.  The  fear  that  we  might  have  acted  as  His  execu- 

tioners did,  had  we  been  there. 

8.  All  the  other  circumstances  of  the  Passion  are  so 

exquisitely  pathetic.  (1.)  The  betrayal.  (2.)  The 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  (3.)  The  Last  Words. 
(4.)  The*  Centurian.  (5.)  Pilate's  admission  of 
His  innocence. 

9.  Because  from  His  Passion,  as  from  a  treasure- 

house  of  Divine  Love,  come 

(1)  All  our  hopes  for  the  future. 

(2)  All  our  security  about  the  forgiveness  of  the 

past. 

(3)  All  the  grace  of  our  present  life. 

(4)  The  Presence  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
Hence  the  Passion  is  the  daily  bread  of  Christian 

souls. 


264  PART  II. 

XIII. 
THE  LEGACIES  OF  JESUS. 

If  sons,  heirs  indeed  of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with 
Christ.     (Rom.  viii.  17.) 

Jesus,  the  poorest  of  earth's  poor,  leaves  His  legacies 
to  His  lovers:  come  to  Calvary,  come  to  the  foot  of 
the  Cross :  they  are  dicing  for  His  seamless  garment : 
we  too  must  be  there  at  that  deathbed,  to  catch,  if 
nothing  else,  the  Seven  last  Words  of  wise  and  burning 
love  that  fall  from  His  ever-blessed  lips. 
I.  His  peace : 

1.  Interior  mastery  over  self. 

2.  Satisfyingness  of  our  love  for  Him. 

3.  Quiet  certainty  of  our  holy  faith. 

4.  Sweet  inclination  to  judge  well  of  and  do  good 

to  all  men. 

II.  His  Cross : 

1.  To  make  us  carpenters  for  ourselves. 

2.  To  carry  for  Him,  like  Simon  of  Cyrene. 

3.  To  be  nailed  to,  like  Peter  and  Himself:  and 

this 

1.  In  heart. 

2.  In  soul. 

3.  In  body. 

Ah !  who  that  has  a  loving  heart  will  be  cast  down 
at  such  a  legacy  as  this  ? 

III.  His  Mother :  as  to  St.  John. 

1.  Talk  to  her. 

2.  Listen   to   what  she  shall    tell   us   of  Jesus: 

devotion  to  her  opens  mysteries. 


THE  SA CRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       265 

3.  Defend  her  honor. 

4.  Beg  her  blessing  as  if  she  was  in  our  house  as 

she  was  in  St.  John's. 
IV.  Himself: 

1.  As  the  sweet  Burden  of  Joseph's  arms. 

2.  As  on  Mary's  lap  to  make  our  hearts  tender. 

3.  As  in  spices  for  sepulture  in  Communion. 

Oh  now  with  riches  like  to  these  that  we  would  take 
heart  and  give  ourselves  utterly  up  to  God.  If  life  be 
bright  and  smiling,  Jesus  is  the  brightness  and  the 
smile — and  how  will  He  enhance  that  brightness.  If 
our  road  lie  through  sorrow  and  through  clouds,  what  a 
light  ever  shining  is  He.  If  our  measure  of  life  be 
wellnigh  spent,  ah  what  reparation  have  we  not  to 
make,  and  love  alone  can  catch  up  lost  time.  If  we  be 
young,  just  leaving  port  in  the  gallant  trim  of  youth 
with  the  bright  flags  of  a  hundred  hopes  flying  at  our 
masts,  then  with  Jesus  on  board  we  shall  be  secure 
against  wreck,  and  reach  at  once  the  haven  where  we 
would  be.  Oh  that  the  mighty  and  Eternal  Wisdom, 
the  Eloquence  of  the  Father,  and  yet  the  humblest  of 
loving  friends  to  poor  venturesome  sinners — Oh  that  He 
for  the  sake  of  these  sorrowful  mysteries  and  deep 
humiliations  which  we  are  all  thinking  of  at  this  sacred 
season  of  Lent — Oh  that  He  would  speak  one  of  His 
never-failing  words  in  the  hearts  of  each  of  us,  and 
make  us  by  a  real  conversion  and  a  heavenly  love  His 
own,  His  Heritage  for  ever ! 


266  PART  II, 

XIV. 
SETTING  UP  THE  STATIONS. 

We  are  about  to  engage  in  an  act  to  which  the  Church 
attaches  great  importance — is  strict  about — and  enriches 
with  quite  unusual  indulgences. 
I.  Devotions  of  the  Jews  to  holy  places — Jacob   at 
Bethel,  &c. — Also  the  heathen. 

1.  It  implies  that  we  are  in  a  state  of  exile,  and  that 

heaven  is  our  real  country. 

2.  It  is  a  means  of  reverence  and  adoration  of  God. 

3.  It  is  an  act  of  love  and  softens  the  heart. 

4.  It   is  a  touching  and   eloquent  witness  to  the 

world. 

5.  Unusual  grace  and  supernatural  gifts  often  go 

with  sanctity  of  place. 

II.  Devotion  of  the  Stations. 

1.  Beauty  and  naturalness  of  it  considered  in  itself. 

2.  Our  Lady  began  it  herself  on  Good  Friday. 

3.  How  she  continued  it  in  after  years  in  Jerusalem. 

4.  Pilgrimages  in  the  early  and  middle  ages. 

5.  The  ardent  love  of  Christians  as  it  were  invoked 

the  holy  places  to  their  own  homes,  as  St.  Paula 
(so  St.  Jerome  says),  Blessed  Columba  of  Rieti, 
and  St.  Lidwine  of  Schiedam  visited  the  Holy 
Land  bodily  in  ecstasy. 

III.  Fruits  and  benedictions  of  this  devotion. 

1.  It  is  an  act  of  faith,  of  hope,  and  of  charity. 

2.  A  thanksgiving  to  the  Most  Holy  Trinity. 

3.  An  exercise  most  fruitful  to  contrition,  penance, 

and  humility. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.       267 

4.  Most  acceptable  to  Jesus  and  Mary. 

5.  Most  supernatural  in  its  effects  on  Purgatory. 
The  best  way  of  making  the  Stations  is  to  unite 

ourselves  to  the  interior  dispositions  of  Mary. 


XV. 

THE  PAIN  OF  JESUS  FROM  OUR  LITTLE 
DEVOTION  TO  HIS  PASSION. 

I.  Have  you  ever  been  in  great  sorrow  ?     Then  you 

know  how  much  harder  to  bear  is  want  of  sympathy 
than  want  of  kindness.  Kindness  is  a  want  with- 
out, sympathy  a  want  within.  JNow  with  that 
thought  come  up  Calvary. 

1.  Did  you  ever  see  any  beauty  like  the  beauty  of 

that  dying  Face  ? 

2.  But  is  there  not  a  look  of  surprise  upon  it  ?  not 

that  death  is  so  hard ;  no !  not  that ! 

3.  And  a  look  of  being  pained — not  by  physical  pain, 

not  by  nails  or  crown  ;  oh  no ! 

4.  We  each  see  that  expression  for  ourselves — others 

do  not  see  quite  what  we  see. 

5.  It  is  our  Lord's  pain  at  our  want  of  devotion  to 

the  Passion :  it  is  a  pain  we  each  of  us  have 
caused,  apart  from  our  causing  the  Passion 
altogether. 

II.  His  pain  at  our  Avant  of  devotion  to  His  Passion. 

1.  It  was  a  separate  pain  for  each  one  of  us ;  for 

wounded  love  never  repeats  itself  or  its  pangs. 

2.  It  was  a  very  great  pain,  for  love  was  just  what 


268  PART  II. 

He  was  craving,  and  it  was  just  the  one  possible 
consolation.  We  are  too  coarse  to  do  justice 
to  the  mystery  of  the  Passion ;  our  lives  are  not 
sufficiently  purified  by  penance. 

3.  It  was  a  peculiar  pain ;   and  all  peculiarity  in 

pain  is  especially  sensible. 

4.  It  was  a  heightening  of  each  and  all  of  His  other 

pains — want,  ache,  absence,  feeling  of  wasted, 
unappreciated  tenderness. 

5.  It  was  a  separate  thing  for  Him  to  forgive — yet 

not  a  sin  exactly,  and  somehow  this  made  it 
more  intolerable  to  bear. 

III.  What  we  may  reverently  conceive  to  have  been 

His  dispositions  about  it. 

1.  Almost   surprise — or  what  in  any  other  human 

heart  would  have  been  surprise  ;  we  are  surprised, 
indeed  we  cannot  explain  our  own  insensibility. 

2.  Intense    sorrow — I    had    almost    dared    to    say 

disappointment.  The  more  intense  because 
His  own  exceeding  love  made  it  altogether 
un  reproachful. 

3.  An  increased  yearning  for  our  devotion,  as  if  its 

absence  made  Him  hunger. 

4.  An  increased  passion  to  suffer,  as  if  that  might 

move  us,  and  so  get  Him  what  He  craves. 

5.  The  pitiful  pleading  of  His  silence:  in  the  garden 

He  complained,  what !  could  ye  not  watch  ? 
Yet  on  the  Cross  not  one  of  His  seven  words 
was  about  it.  But  oh !  how  He  intended  that 
silence  to  speak,  to  speak  in  the  hearts  of  His 
servants ! 

IV.  What  He  thought,  or  rather  what  His  silence  said. 
1.  He  had  made  His  passion  so  various  in  order  to 


TEE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      269 

wound  all  hearts:    I   believe  He  meant  some 
one  touchingness  of  it  for  each  heart. 

2.  He  had  run  into  all  manner  of  excesses  and  enthu- 

siasms, what  could  He  do  more  ? 

3.  Then  He  gave  it  all  to  each  of  us :  He  made  what 

belonged  to  the  whole  world  personal  to  each 
one  of  us. 

4.  His  behavior  and  manner  had  all  been  so  beautiful 

and  gentle :   angels  even  felt  the  sweet  piteous- 
ness  of  His  courteous  love. 

5.  Then  He  had  plunged  His  Mother  in  it,  to  break 

our  hard  hearts,  because  He  knew  with  what 
intensity  we  should  love  her.     Who  can  resist 
the  piteousness  of  innocence  suffering?  and  such 
dear  innocence  as  hers  ? 
I  cannot  go  on  multiplying  thoughts:  it  is  getting 

more  than  we  can  bear.     O  my  Saviour!  my  Saviour! 

how  I  wish  I  could  think  He  had  had  some  consolation 

from  knowing  that  I  should  be  devoted  to  His  Passion 

before  I  died ! 


XVI. 
THE  SEVEN  JOURNEYS. 

I.  From  the  supper-room  to  Gethsemane. 

1.  The  departure  of  Judas  on  his  accursed  work. 

2.  The  presentiments  of  the  disciples. 

3.  The  unspeakable  calmness  of  Jesus. 

II.  From  Gethsemane  to  the  house  of  Annas. 

1.  The  violence  of  those  who  drag  Him. 

2.  The  plunging  Him  in  the  brook  Cedron. 


270  PARI  II. 

3.  His  entry  amid  shame  and  abjection  into  the  house 
of  Annas. 

III.  From  the  house  of  Annas  to  the  house  of  Caiphas. 

1.  The  insults  of  His  enraged  enemies. 

2.  The  disturbance  in  the  dark  streets. 

3.  The  interior  occupations  of  Jesus. 

IV.  From  the  house  of  Caiphas  to  the  hall  of  Pilate. 

1.  The  weariness  and  faintness  of  Jesus. 

2.  His  confusion  at  being  made  over  to  the  heathen 

governor. 

3.  The  mingled  feelings  of  those  who  see  Him  pass. 
V.  From  the  hall  of  Pilate  to  the  court  of  Herod. 

1.  Increased  faintness  of  Jesus. 

2.  His  sweetness  in  suffering. 

3.  His  patient  charity. 

VI.  From  the  court  of  Herod  to  the  hall  of  Pilate. 

1.  His  submission  to  rude  hands. 

2.  His  acceptance  of  the  humiliation. 

3.  His  generous  facing  of  death. 

VII.  From  the  hall  of  Pilate  to  Calvary. 

1.  His  meeting  His  Blessed  Mother. 

2.  His  three  falls. 

3.  His  arrival  at  Calvary. 


XVII. 
THE  FIVE  TRIALS  OF  JESUS. 

I.  Before  Annas. 

1.  Jesus  justifies  Himself. 

2.  He  receives  a  blow. 

3.  His  sweet  patience  and  defence  of  Himself. 


THE  SACRED  HUMANITY  OF  JESUS.      271 

II.  Before  Caiphas. 

1.  The  silence  of  Jesus. 

2.  The  false  witnesses. 

3.  The  adjuration. 

III.  Before  Pilate  and  acquitted. 

1.  The  reluctance  of  Pilate. 

2.  The  modest  defence  of  Jesus. 

3.  Pilate's  acquittal  of  Him  and  unlawful  cruelty. 

IV.  Before  Herod. 

1.  Solemnity  and  severity  of  the  silence  of  Jesus. 

2.  His  refusal  to  work  a  miracle. 

3.  His  being  derided  as  a  fool. 

V.  Before  Pilate  and  found  guilty. 

1.  Pilate's  human  respect. 

2.  The  proposal  of  Barabbas. 

3.  Jesus  receives  sentence. 


part 

OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS. 


SECTION  I. 
OUR  BLESSED  LADY. 


Vol.  I. 


DEVOTION  TO  MARY  THE  GREAT  GIFT 
OF  JESUS. 

There  is  much  in  the  world  to  make  us  sad,  the  present 
sorrows  of  the  Church,  and  our  own  little  love  of  God. 
Yet  can  we  help  a  certain  jubilee  of  heart  in  thinking 
that  the  Month  of  God's  Mother  has  now  begun,  that 
each  day  of  it  is  bringing  more  and  more  glory  to  God, 
and  more  and  more  help  to  the  Church,  because  millions 
upon  millions  of  souls,  in  every  clime  and  of  every  blood, 
are  daily  growing  in  the  deep  reverence  and  the  deeper 
love  of  the  Immaculate  Mother  of  God  ?  Oh  that  the 
days  were  longer,  and  would  pass  more  slowly,  that  we 
might  fill  them  fuller  of  that  sweet  enthusiasm  for  Jesus, 
whose  natural  outburst  is  devotion  to  His  dearest 
Mother ! 
I.  The  gifts  of  God. 

1.  The  pleasure  of  receiving  gifts — huge  pleasure  to 

the  generous — gifts  from  those  we  love. 

2.  What  then  must  be  the  pleasure  of  receiving  them 

from  God  ?  yet  all  life  is  this. 

3.  But  our  Lord  says  it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than 

to  receive. 

4.  How  immense  then  the  pleasure  of  God,  and  so 

in  proportion  His  love. 

5.  The  wonderfulness  of  our  receiving  gifts  from  God . 

275 


276  PART  HI. 

the  way  it  makes  us  love  Him  and  humble 
ourselves. 

II.  The  gifts  of  Jesus. 

1.  A   peculiar   sweetness    in    receiving   gifts    from 

Jesus. 

2.  He  has  one  gift,  an  immense  gift,  of  huge  im- 

portance for  time,  and  still  more  for  eternity. 

3.  Not  only  an  immense  gift,  but  a  choice  one,  one 

that  He  gives  most  of  to  His  dearest  saints. 

4.  One   that  was  and  is  part   of  His   own   Heart 

and  Character — and  one  which  He  is  not  so 
much  ready  to  give  us,  as  intensely  burning  to 
give  us. 

5.  The  gift  is  the  grace  to  love1  His  Mother !     Oh  if 

we  did  but  prize  and  value  this  grace  as  we 
ought  to  prize  it,  as  He  Himself  prizes  it,  we 
should  be  already  half-way  to  heaven,  because  we 
should  have  half  ensured  our  final  perseverance. 

III.  It  is  the  characteristic  grace  of  Jesus :  because 

He  would  give  us  such  a  gift. 

1.  As  would  make  us  love  Himself  most. 

2.  As  would  make  us  most  like  Him. 

3.  As  would  most  honor  His  Mother. 

4.  As  would  be  most  advantageous  to  ourselves. 

5.  As  would  make  Him  love  us  most. 

All  these  things  are  combined  in  the  love  of  Mary. 

What  an  intense  joy  it  is  in  any  way  to  resemble 
Jesus?  How  then  ought  we  to  cultivate  and  multiply 
this  queenly  grace  of  loving  Mary !  Oh,  happy  you 
who  have  it,  happier  you  who  greatly  prize  it,  happiest 
you  who  are  all  on  fire  with  it,  for  it  is  a  fire  which 
Jesus  Himself  has  kindled  in  your  hearts!  The  fair 
light  of  eternity,  the  sensible  touch  of  God,  the  golden 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    277 

prophecies  of  a  happy  death,  the  cheerful  securities  of 
a  joyous  judgment  are  upon  you.  Happy,  happy  you ! 
God  be  praised  for  your  abounding  happiness. 

But  oh  unhappy  souls,  most  unfortunate  of  men, 
most  unfortunate  at  least  of  all  men  who  are  not  yet 
the  victims  of  the  eternal  prison,  you  who  have  not 
this  devotion !  There  is  much  on  earth,  which  bears, 
and  rightly,  the  title  of  misfortune,  but  of  all  God's 
creatures  upon  earth,  they  are  the  most  unfortunate 
who  have  no  devotion  to  God's  Mother ! 

Dearest  brethren,  there  can  be  no  repentance  in 
heaven — else  when  we  see  Mary  we  shall  wish  we  had 
known  her  better,  prayed  to  her  oftener,  and  loved  her 
more ;  for  we  shall  see  brighter  places  than  our  own, 
further  forward  in  the  glory  of  heaven,  where  we  might 
have  been  had  we  loved  her  more ! 


II. 
MARY  THE  MOTHER  OF  SINNERS. 

I.  The  dreadful  condition  of  a  man  not  in  a  state  of 
grace.  — . 

1.  Cut  off  from  God. 

2.  Having  no  part  in  the  redemption  of  Jesus. 

3.  The  sport  of  demons. 

4.  Having  already  hell  begun  in  itself. 

5.  Chance  of  sudden  death,  and  then  eternal  fire. 

6.  Horror  of  the  angels,  and  hatred  of  God,  exem- 

plified in  the  brand  of  Cain. 
II.  One   thing    is    still    left    to    him — the    motherly 


278  PART  III. 

solicitude  of  Mary.  This  is  his  hope — his  trea- 
sure— his  last  resource.  He  goes  about  the 
world  linked  to  Heaven  by  this  one  thing. 

1.  Because  she  is   the   Mother   of  Mercy,   not   of 

Justice. 

2.  Because  God  has  willed  it  so,  in  love  to  her  and 

love  to  us. 

3.  Because  experience  shows  that  many  who  through 

a  sinful  life  have  hung  on  to  her  by  some  little 
devotion  get  grace  at  last. 

III.  How  it  is  that,  when  she  so  approaches  God  in 
His  hatred  of  sin,  she  so  perseveringly  loves 
sinners. 

1.  Because  of  the  glory  of  God. 

2.  From  a  thirst  to  extend  the  harvest  of  Christ's 

Passion. 

3.  Because  all  souls  are  the  brothers  of  Jesus. 

4.  Because  of  her  vehement  enmity  with  the  devil. 

5.  Because  of  her  very  hatred  of  sin. 

6.  Because  she  knows  that  Jesus  saw  each  of  us  in 

His  sufferings,  and  specially  suffered  for  each. 

7.  Because  of   her    intense   joy   in   beholding   the 

triumph  of  grace. 

8.  Because   of  her  desire  to  exercise  that  peculiar 

empire  of  mercy  which  God  has  entrusted  to 
her. 

9.  Because  of  the  unspeakable  tenderness  of  her 

Maternal  heart. 

Address  the  hardhearted  or  the  despairing,  to  have 
unbounded  confidence  in  Mary.  You  cannot  better 
magnify  the  love  of  God  or  show  more  welcome  trust 
in  His  mercy  than  by  unlimited  confidence  in  the 
Heart  of  Mary ! 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    279 

IIL 
MAKY  THE  SAFETY  OF  SOULS. 

I.  The  opposite  views  which  God  and  the  world  take 
of  men. 

1.  The  world's  view  according  to  science,  or  politics, 

or  intellect,  or  wealth,  or  friendship. 

2.  God's  view,  simply  and  exclusively  as  souls  with 

one  work  to  do. 

3.  The  difficulty  of  learning  God's  view  and  keeping 

to  it :  yet  this  is  the  very  science  of  a  Chris- 
tian. 

II.  God's  love  of  souls. 

1.  The    only    treasure    of   His    own    creation   He 

vouchsafes  to  set  value  on. 

2.  The  immense  love  of  Jesus  for  souls. 

3.  The  whole  Church  simply  a  contrivance  for  souls. 

4.  The  way  all  heaven  is  engrossed  day  and  night 

on  behalf  of  souls. 

5.  The  characteristic   of  the  saints  is  unforgetting 

enthusiastic  zeal  for  souls. 

6.  The  value  of  the  soul  itself — death  being  better 

than  sin — its  unutterable  penalties,  its  incon- 
ceivable rewards.  Nay,  God  Himself  is  its  only 
sufficient  reward. 

7.  The   interests   of  the  soul  eminently  unite  the 

glory  of  God  and  the  honor  of  Jesus. 

III.  What  Mary  does  for  souls. 

1.  By  what  she  suffered. 

2.  By  her  example ;    the   model  of  all  ages,  and 

simply  a  creature,  simply  imitable. 


280  PART  III. 

3.  By    the     conversion    of    sinners     by    missions, 

scapulars,  medals,  &c. 

4.  By  the  perfection  of  the  saints. 

5.  By  the  religious  orders  she   has  founded  either 

by  vision  or  by  love :  and  all  they  are  doing  at 
all  hours  all  the  world  over,  whether  in  the 
active  or  contemplative  life. 

6.  By  her  peculiar  winningness  and  familiarity  as 

Mother  of  Mercy. 

7.  All  she  does  for  the  Church  and  the  Faith  by  her 

prayers  is  so  much  work  for  souls,  as  the  peace 
of  the  Church  is  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of 
the  masses  and  multitudes. 

8.  The  way  she  uses  her  angels  on  behalf  of  souls, 

and  pursues  them  into  Purgatory. 

9.  As  the  neck  of  the  mystical  body  of  Christ  all 

graces  pass  through  her. 
IV.  Conclusions  to  be  drawn. 

1.  The  little  we  can  do  for  souls. 

2.  The  immense   privilege  of  being  allowed  to  do 

that  little. 

3.  The  joy  at  the  immensity  which  Mary  does ;  this 

is  another  reason  for  loving  her. 

4.  Also  by  our  devotion  we  may  continually  get  her 

to  do  more. 

•  Thus  devotion  to  our  Blessed  Lady  is  an  essential 
part  of  true  zeal  for  souls. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    281 

IV. 
DEPENDENCE  ON  MARY. 

I.  Our  Lord  is  our  example  as  well  as  our  Redeemer. 

1.  Hence  the  necessity  of  studying  the  four  Gospels 

as  our  rule  of  life. 

2.  In  these  things  which  seem  the  least  fitted  to  His 

Divinity,  He  would  seem  also  to  be  most  our 
example ; 

3.  And   these  things  are   chiefly  under  the  heads 

either  of  humiliation  or  submission. 

4.  Instances :  The  Forty  Days'  Fast — His  remaining 

in  the  Temple  at  twelve  years  old.  I  select 
these  instances  as  on  the  surface  least  likely  to 
be  imitable. 

5.  But  above  all,  so  much  of  the  thirty-three  years 

given  to  Mary,  thirty  out  of  thirty-three  wholly, 
the  other  three  very  much. 

II.  His  dependence  on  Mary. 

1.  He  waited  her  consent  for  His  Incarnation,  and 

fixed  the  time  because  of  her. 

2.  His  infancy  with   use  of  reason,  yet   dependent 

on  her. 

3.  He  seems  to   leave  His   Father's   business  and 

returns  from  the  temple  to  Nazareth. 

4.  The  eighteen   years — He  was   simply  subject  to 

her. 

5.  The  tradition  that  He  asked  her  leave  to  go  on 

His  Ministry,  and  again  to  His  Passion. 

6.  At  her  word  He  anticipated  His  time  for  working 

miracles. 


282  PART  III. 

7.  He  perpetuated  this  dependence  in  the  Church 

by  transferring  her  to  us  through  St.  John. 
III.  Our  dependence  on  Mary. 

1.  Her  position  to  us  is  thus  simply  what   it  was 

to  Him. 

2.  All  true  devotion  to  her  is  nothing  but  dependence 

upon  her. 

3.  This  dependence  is  based  on — 

(1)  Belief  in  her  power. 

(2)  Confidence  in  her  love. 

4.  All  good  things  which  fail,  fail  because  they  have 

not  enough  of  Mary  in  them. 

5.  We  must  put  things  in  her  hands,  and  look  to 

her  for  results. 

6.  She  must  be   imbedded   in  our   lives,  as   she  is 

imbedded  in  the  oifice  of  the  Church. 

7.  Holiness  is  impossible  for  us  without  Mary — for 

God  has  made  it  one  consistent  system,  and  she 

is  part  of  it  ordained  by  Him. 
Oh  if  we  would  but  throw  ourselves  more  upon  Mary 
than  we  do,  with  the  whole  weight  of  our  love,  with 
the  whole  weight  of  our  necessities.  She  is  loving 
each  one  of  us  at  this  moment  with  a  surpassing  love. 
No  friend,  no  parent,  no  saint,  no  angel  has  ever  been 
to  us  what  she  has  been.  It  is  wonderful  what  she 
has  done  for  us  without  our  asking,  more  wonderful 
still  what  she  has  done  for  our  little  asking,  but  most 
wonderful  of  all  is  what  she  can  do  and  will  do,  if  we 
will  ask  more,  believe  more,  and  trust  more.  Oh  we 
who  call  earth  our  exile,  and  heaven  our  home,  and 
Mary  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  how  is  it  we  do  not  see 
that  there  can  be  no  heavenly-mindedness  which  is 
not  full  of  loyalty  to  heaven's  great  Queen  ? 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    283 

x 

V. 
MORE  LOVE  OF  MARY. 

Time  goes  differently  with  different  people;  and 
differently  in  different  years  even  with  the  same 
person.  Sometimes  we  live  slowly ;  sometimes  we 
live  quickly.  But  the  years  are  always  speeding,  a 
quiet  speed,  but  an  incessant  one.  Are  we  speeding 
on  the  way  to  heaven?  Speeding!  yes!  are  we 
speeding  on  the  way  to  heaven?  It  is  a  road  on 
which  nothing  is  safe  but  speed ;  nothing  is  prudent 
but  impetuosity;  nothing  is  cautious  but  bravery. 
What  is  age  to  the  Christian  eye?  only  this — more 
work,  and  less  time  to  do  it  in.  O  Christians,  how 
we  dream  I  It  was  thus  that  I  reproached  myself  the 
other  day,  and  I  awoke  with  a  start,  as  if  from  sleep 
or  from  forgetfulness.  More  work  and  less  time  to  do 
it  in.  This  must  be  looked  to  ;  life  must  be  put  in 
order;  I  must  be  converted  again,  and  at  once,  not 
to-morrow,  but  to-day,,  this  very  hour.  Here  is  another 
year  running  round,  the  days  are  beginning  to  shorten 
again,  we  must  quicken  our  speed  both  onward  and 
upward.  I  thought  I  was  getting  hourly  into  God's 
debt ;  I  sat  down  to  teach  myself  a  lesson,  to  preach 
myself  a  sermon,  and  reason  with  my  own  laziness  and 
cowardice;  and  somehow  it  all  went  the  other  way, 
all  my  thoughts  went  into  love.  This  was  how  it 
was;  let  us  think  the  train  of  thought  over  again 
together. 

I.  The   weight  of  our  obligations  to  Jesus:  what  a 
delightfully  hopeless  debt  it  is. 


284  PART  HI. 

1.  All   that   He   has  suffered   and  done ;   let  Him 

stand  before  us  and  show  us  His  Wounds. 

2.  All  His  sweet  patience  lately,  and  at  the  pres-' 

ent  hour. 

3.  All  the  secret  Love  He  has  shown  each  of  us,  and 

which  we  alone  know. 

4.  The  intolerable  misery  of  the  little  love  we  have 

for  Him,  and  which  we  feel  most  when  we  love 
Him  most. 

5.  We  get  hot;  we  rouse  ourselves;  we  are  deter- 

mined to  love  Him  more,  and  to  go  and  do 
some  great  thing  for  Him  immediately.  Worldly 
things  are  best  done  coolly,  things  for  God  are 
best  done  in  a  heat. 

II,  What  is  our  great  thing  to  be?    We  must  do  Him 
some  imrftense  service — but  how  ? 

1.  He  is  God :  we  must  adore  His  Divine  Person ; 

our  adoration  must  grow  more  prostrate  and 
more  exulting  every  day. 

2.  But   we   want   something  special ;   just   as   His 

Incarnation  was  specially  for  us. 

3.  We  must  worship  and  love  His  created  Nature, 

which  He  so  intensely  loves  Himself,  and  which 
makes  Him  Jesus. 

4.  Prayer,  austerities,  work  for  Him :  how  little  we 

can  do  in  this  way !  No !  He  wants  imitation  : 
we  must  copy  Him :  we  must  copy  His  Sacred 
Heart.  This,  if  I  mistake  not,  is  the  work  of  all 
Christian  life,  and  of  Christians'  lives,  to  widen 
the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  to  give  it  more  room, 
to  multiply  its  powers  and  faculties,  its  worships 
and  its  lives,  and  as  it  were  add  to  it  and  broaden 
it  by  giving  Him  our  own  hearts  to  add  to  His 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    285 

own  and  make  it  larger.  Now  what  represents 
His  Sacred  Heart  most  both  as  God  and  man  ? 
5.  Then  it  dawns  upon  us  like  a  revelation,  like 
one  of  those  almost  frightening  sunrises  at  sea, 
when  the  whole  round  sun  leaps  all  at  once  out 
of  the  waters  with  a  silvery  suddenness.  We 
must  immediately  love  Mary  with  an  entirely 
new  love — with  such  a  love  as  we  never  loved 
her  with  before,  with  such  a  love  as  nobody 
ever  loved  her  with  before — this  is  what  we  will 
do  for  Jesus.  Dearest  Saviour !  Dearest  God, 
how  He  will  delight  in  this.  Oh  this  is  a  sweet 
discovery — a  most  happy  inspiration  ? 

III.  Measures  of  the  love  of  Mary. 

1.  Our  own  greatest  love,  or  all  our  love  together? 

No! 

2.  All  the  Saints'  love  of  her, — e.g.  Joseph,  Peter, 

John,  and  her  particular  friendship  with  St. 
James  ?  No. 

3.  Her  own  beauty,   goodness,  and  manifold  dear 

offices  ?     No. 

4.  Her  own  love  of  me  ?     No !  not  even  that. 

5.  The  love  of  Jesus  for  her.     Yes  that,  precisely 

that,  only  that. 

6.  Alas !  it  is  not  enough  ;  for  we  have  more  grounds 

for  loving  her  than  Jesus  had  :  but  we  must  be 
content  with  this  measure. 

IV.  But  I  said  to  myself,  it  is  impossible.    Impossible ! 

what  does  impossible  mean  ?  Does  grace  know 
of  any  such  word?  Impossible!  Then  I  said, 
I  will  spend  my  life,  and  oh  what  a  happy  life 
it  will  be,  in  trying  to  accomplish  this  dear 
impossibility ! 


286  PART  III. 

VI. 
MARY  MAGNIFYING  GOD. 

Is  heaven  far  off,  or  near  ?  We  do  not  know :  its 
songs  are  not  heard,  unless  it  be  by  the  dying,  or  by 
saints  as  they  are  rapt  in  ecstacy.  But  then  the  soul's 
ear  can  hear  far  off.  Still  upon  the  whole  we  incline 
to  think  that  heaven  is  near. 

I.  What  is  Heaven  ?    It  is  the  beautifulness  of  the 
outspread  God. 

1.  What   angels   think  of  this,  and  our  own  dear 

dead ;  it  is  all  in  all  to  them. 

2.  Our  want  of  appreciation  intellectually,  and  the 

unmovedness  of  our  affections. 

3.  God  is  to  us  one  of  many  things ;    hence  our 

intolerably  low  views  of  God. 

4.  Yet  how  stupid  any  low  views  of  God  must  be : 

our  own  vexation  with  ourselves. 

5.  To  raise  ourselves   higher  in  this  matter  should 

be  the  one  end  of  life. 
II.  Loving  contemplation  of  Mary  is  the  way  to  learn 

better  adoration  of  God. 

Blessed  art  thou  by  thy  God  in  every  tabernacle  of 
Jacob :  for  in  every  nation  which  shall  hear  thy  name, 
the  God  of  Israel  shall  be  magnified  on  occasion  of 
thee.* 

1.  This  is  her   office.     My  soul   doth   magnify  the 

Lord. 

2.  She  is  the  highest  person  in  all  God's  creation, 

and  nearest  to  the  Divine  Three. 

*  Judith  xiii.  31. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.     287 

3.  God  has  most   incredibly  communicated   to  her 

the  splendors  of  His  Perfections. 

4.  She  has  led  the  most  wonderful  life,  and  fulfils 

the  most  wonderful  office,  among  creatures. 

5.  She  has  been  more  mixed  up  with  God  than  all 

creation  besides. 
III.  What  she  has  been  and  is  to  God. 

1.  In  His  Eternity  before  Creation. 

(1)  Of  all  created  persons,  dearest  and  first. 

(2)  His  unutterable  immense  complacence  in  her, 

and  endless  desire  of  her. 

(3)  He  designed   her  as  seemingly  necessary  to 

Him  in  creation,  as  the  Mother  of  the  Word. 

2.  In  the  Kingdom  of  Nature. 

(1)  Her  perfections  as  a  person   the  greatest  in 

all  creation. 

(2)  Creation  created  subordinately  to  Jesus  and 

herself. 

(3)  The  natural  gifts  of  her  body  and  her  soul. 

3.  In  the  Kingdom  of  Grace. 

(1)  The  highest   sanctity   of  created   persons   is 

hers. 

(2)  The  Divine  Maternity. 

(3)  The  Queenship  of  the  Church  on  earth. 

4.  In  the  Kingdom  of  Glory. 

(1)  Her  incomparable  throne  and  exaltation. 

(2)  The  Queenship  of  the  angels. 

(3)  She  beautifies   even   the  unspeakable  life  of 

God  by  her  exceeding  glorious  loveliness. 

Oh   Majesty  of  God,  most  dear,  most   mysterious, 

and  yet  so  infinitely  desirable !     How  shall  we  learn 

it  more  worthily,  and  worship  it  with  more  delighted 

awe,   than   by  the   contemplation  of  Mary  ?     It  will 


288  PART  IIL 

be  well  for  us  in  time  and  in  eternity  to  spend  this 
month  in  intensest  efforts  to  worship  Mary  with  a 
more  noble,  more  tender,  more  reverent  worship.  It 
is  a  matter  in  which  there  can  be  no  excess;  we 
cannot  do  too  much :  our  most  must  be  sorrowfully 
too  little.  God  will  leave  us  far  behind  in  His  love 
and  admiration  and  complacency  in  her.  Oh  then, 
my  brethren,  let  us  worship  the  grand  mother  of  God 
with  every  faculty  of  our  minds :  let  us  worship  her 
with  every  affection  of  our  hearts :  let  us  worship  her 
with  a  magnificent  worship — and  so  shall  there  grow 
in  our  hearts  the  grand,  broad,  invigorating,  exclusive, 
exulting,  impassioned  love  of  God ! 


VII. 
MARY  THE  LIKENESS  OF  GOD. 

How  it  would  sweeten  death,  if  when  we  came  to 
die,  we  could  feel  that  God  had  allowed  us  to  increase 
in  one  single  heart  the  love  of  our  dearest  Lady.  I 
believe  it  would  be  a  special  joy  for  all  eternity.  Let 
us  try  now  again  to-day  to  inflame  each  other's  hearts 
with  this  sweet  love. 
I.  Astonishment  is  one  of  the  cKief  joys  of  heaven. 

1.  Caused  by  the  immense  incomprehensible  beauty 

of  God  ; 

2.  And  also  by  the  inconceivable  jubilee  of  all  there. 

3.  Always  new,  always  as  it  were  increasing. 

4.  In  saints  on  earth  touches  and  glimpses  of  heaven 

bring  ecstacy  and  rapture ;  but  this  is  because 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    289 

of  their  mortal  weakness:  it  is  not  so  in 
heaven. 

5.  The  exquisite  joy  of  astonishment,  in  mind,  in 
heart,  in  glorified  senses. 

II.  The  likeness  of  God. 

1.  It  is  difficult  for  us  on  earth  to  conceive  what  it 

is  to  have  God  all  in  all. 

2.  He   is  so   completely   the  one   Object    that    all 

blessedness  tends  to  become  more  and  more  one 
with  Him,  with  an  amazing  oneness  which  will 
not  be  put  into  words. 

3.  Our  joy  is  that  we  remain  separate  selves,  yet 

one  with  Him,  and  so  can  feel  and  enjoy  our 
unity  with  Him. 

4.  This  union  with  Him  is  by  becoming  transformed 

into  His  likeness. 

5.  All  beauty  therefore  in  creatures,  and  all  joy,  is 

in  their  likeness  to  God. 

III.  All  creation  is  the  likeness  of  God. 

1.  Inanimate  nature — in  beauty  of  form — proper- 

ties, &c. 

2.  Animalcules  —  in    life  —  fecundity  —  beauty  — 

strangeness. 

3.  Men  like  God. 

4.  Angels  like  God. 

5.  But  Mary  most  of  all. 

(1)  Like  the  Father — in  being  the  Mother  of  the 

Son,  truly  and  naturally.  What  unimagin- 
able likenesses  to  that  dear  and  Blessed 
First  Person  does  not  this  suggest  ? 

(2)  Like  the  Son. 

1.  In  form  and  features,  and  human  disposi- 
tion. 
Vol.  I.  T 


290  PART  III. 

2.  In  the  character  of  her  Immaculate  Heart. 

3.  In  mortal  sufferings. 
(3)  Like  the  Holy  Ghost. 

1.  In  being  His  Spouse. 

2.  In  her  love  of  Jesus. 

3.  Through  the  action  of  her  repeated  sauctifi- 

tions. 

There  are  cold,  shallow  controversies  on  earth  about 
our  Lady's  greatness,  while  at  this  hour  the  great  St. 
Michael  is  gazing  on  her  throne  with  a  rapture  of 
astonishment,  a  delighted  rapture  which  will  grow  to 
all  eternity ! 


VIII. 

THE  DELIGHT  OF  GOD  IN  THE  PER- 
FECTIONS OF  MARY* 

There  has  been  only  one  thing  from  eternity — there 
is  only  one  thing  now — there  will  never  to  all  eternity 
be  but  one  thing — the  glory  of  God. 
I.  The  Glory  of  God. 

1.  What  it  is,  and  His  delight  in  it. 

2.  Its    universal    empire,    and    our    own    concern 

with  it. 

3.  The  glorious  sovereignty  of  God. 

4.  The  glorious  sweetness  of  God. 

5.  The  glorious  exclusiveness  of  God. 

II.  Mary  an  immense  glory  of  God  ;  and  God's  delight. 
1.  In  her  Predestination. 

*  Octave  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  1859. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    291 

2.  In  her  Office  as  Mother  of  God. 

3.  In  her  Graces. 

4.  In  her  Prerogatives. 

5.  In  the  work  she  does  in  creation. 
III.  The  reasons  of  His  delight. 

1 .  Because  He  sees  Himself  reflected  in  her. 

2.  Because  He  is  enabled  for  her  sake  to  love  His 

creation  more. 

3.  Because  through  her  a  greater  number  of  souls 

are  saved. 

4.  Because  all  in  her  is  His  own  gift. 

5.  Because  the  distance  from  her  to  Himself  is  simply 

infinite. 

This  night  in  heaven :  Mary  is  on  her  throne, 
clothed  with  the  sun,  twelve  stars  around  her  head, 
sighs  of  earth  coming  up  to  her,  and  the  joys  of  earth 
as  well.  Baptized  children,  saints,  angels,  the  Sacred 
Humanity,  the  Three  Persons  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  are 
all  drinking  joy  and  jubilee  out  of  that  one  fountain, 
that  dearest  of  all  God's  dear  glories,  the  Immaculate 
Heart  of  Mary. 

We  too  have,  we  trust,  a  place  kept  there,  in  what 
part  of  all  that  boundless  realm  of  grandeur  and  ecstasy 
we  cannot  know,  but  it  is  very  beautiful,  strangely 
suited  to  us,  and  full  of  unimaginable  delights.  Though 
it  is  a  land  of  immense  distances  every  one  is  near  to 
God,  every  one  is  near  to  Mary.  Let  us  think  of  that 
dear  unseen  home,  and  let  us  hold  on  in  virtue ;  let 
us  pray  hard ;  let  us  love  hotly ;  let  us  sorrow  holily ; 
let  us  delight  in  God ;  and  so,  dearest  children  of  Mary, 
shall  our  whole  lives  become  one  long  and  beautiful 
Procession  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  ! 


292  PART  III. 

IX. 

THE  IMMACULATE  CONCEPTION, 
i. 

THE  MOTHER  AND  THE  SON. 

The  history  of  the  Predestination  of  Jesus  and  Mary 
— hence  their  unity  and  inseparability.  The  Immac- 
ulate Conception  is  a  mystery  belonging  to  both,  and 
the  first  mystery  of  both. 

I.  The  peculiar  force  and  majesty  of  the  mystery  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception. 

1.  It  is  the  first  dawn  of  the  world's  redemption. 

2.  The  fountain  of  all  the  other  mysteries  of  Jesus 

and  Mary,  and  of  the  seven  sacraments,  and  of 
the  Church. 

3.  It  interprets  as  nothing  else  does  the  character 

of  God,  and  illuminates  His  eternal  decrees. 

4.  It  illustrates  and  unriddles  the  wonderfulness  of 

creation. 

5.  It  beautifies  the  Church,  her  doctrines,  and  her 

ceremonial,  and  crowns  the  desires  of  holy  hearts 
through  many  generations. 

II.  Chiefly,  it  is  the  primary  revelation  of  Mary's  simil- 
itude to  Jesus-.     Points  of  likeness. 

1.  She  was  exempt  from  original  sin,  which  none  ever 

were  before  in  their  conception. 

2.  The  gift  of  actual  sinlessness. 

3.  She  could  not  be  tempted  inwardly — the  devil  had 

no  such  power  because  of  her  innocence. 

4.  Her'hiddenness  and  marvellous  infancy. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    293 

5.  A  prodigy  of  suffering,  yet  not  for  her  own  sake. 

6.  The  resurrection  of  her  body. 

7.  Her  Assumption  answers  to  His  Ascension. 

8.  She  is  treated  in  the  world  now  as  the  Blessed 

Sacrament  is,  unknown,  unrealized,  shorn  of 
glory. 

9.  Her  interior — possessing  the  spirit  of  Jesus   in 

unknown  measure,  far  beyond  her  outward 
resemblance. 

10.  Her  share  in  the  victories  the  saints  have  won 

before  and  after  Christ. 

11.  In  her  degree  she  is  the  light  of  the  Church — 

He  the  Sun,  she  the  Moon. 

12.  As  God  communicates  Himself  through  Jesus,  so 

Jesus  communicates  His  gifts  through  her. 

13.  Her  Queendom,  like  His  Headship,  is  over  angels 

as  well  as  men. 

14.  The  similarity  of  her  features  to  His — how  won- 

derful this  resemblance  must  be  to  the  angels, 
who  know  God,  and  gaze  on  Him  Incarnate,  a 
living  copy  of  His  creature. 

III.  It  was  the  grand  work  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity 
in  power,  in  wisdom,  and  in  joy ;  and  so  love 
of  Mary  is,  as  it  were,  the  signet  of  the  Most 
Holy  Trinity  set  upon  our  souls. 

1.  Love  of  Mary  a  power  with  God,  with  her,  with 

others,  over  devils,  and  over  self. 

2.  Love  of  Mary  a  wisdom  beyond  art  and  science, 

literature  and  philosophy,  giving  a  knowledge 
of  God,  grace,  sin,  creation,  Jesus,  eternal  and 
invisible  things. 

3.  Love  of  Mary  a  joy  not  temporal,  but  eternal, 

and  so  a  shadow  of  our  predestination. 


294  PART  III. 

To  know  Mary  is  to  love  her.  How  we  should  bless 
God  for  this  enchanting  knowledge !  The  ills  of  life 
are  many,  achings  of  body,  pangs  of  heart,  remorse  of 
conscience,  peril  of  salvation,  yet  it  is  worth  while  to 
have  risked  all  this,  and  a  thousand  times  more  than 
this,  to  have  gazed  on  her  sweet  life,  lisped  in  prayer 
her  most  beautiful  of  names,  to  have  known  her,  to 
have  loved  her,  and  to  be  her  child ;  yes,  to  be  as  Jesus 
was,  the  spotless  Mother's  Child. 


2. 

THE  MOTHER  AND  HER  MANY  SONS. 

I.  The  beauty  of  Mary  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 
Word  elected  her  out  of  His  infinite  ideals. 
She  was  His  mother  by  choice :  she  is  ours  by 
the  appointment  of  her  Son,  who  shares  her 
with  us. 

1.  She   was  no   choice  of   ours,   but  the   merciful 

ordinance  of  God;  just  as  He  made  the  privi- 
lege of  our  loving  Him  into  a  precept. 

2.  We  cannot  do  without  her,  as  the  Gospel  now 

stands. 

3.  She  was  given  to   us   from   the   Cross,  to  Him 

at  Nazareth :  to  both  of  us  in  the  Immaculate 

Conception. 
2.  She  has  been  the  ruling  power  of  all  the  good  of 

our  past  lives. 
5.  That  she   is   our  Mother  is  the  great  fact  of 

our  lives:    eke   we   are   not  of  our   Brother's 

family. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS,   295 

II.  The  Immaculate  Conception  as  it  regards  us  is  a 
mystery  of  grace. 

1.  It  is  the  second  greatest  mercy  human  nature  could 

have ;  the  Hypostatic  Union  being  the  first. 

2.  It  is  the  diadem  of  graces  overtopping  all  that 

angels  and  men  have  ever  received. 

3.  A  grace  more  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  honor 

of  Jesus  than  any  other. 

4.  A  source  of  perpetual  joy  in  heaven,  and  bound- 

less confidence  on  earth. 

The  five  graces  involved  in  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion. (1)  Immunity  from  all  venial  sins  collectively ; 
(2)  Extinction  of  fomes ;  (3)  Ceaseless  light  of  grace ; 
(4)  Endless  love  of  God  in  act. 

I  know  not  whether  very  great  saints  or  very  great 
sinners  should  most  love  this  mystery  :  extremes  meet : 
it  truly  can  be  no  devotion  of  the  commonplace  or 
lukewarm. 

III.  The  exercise  of  our  Lady's  Maternal  office  shadows 
forth  the  Holy  Trinity. 

1.  Her  immense  participation  in  the  power  of  the 

Father,  the  wisdom  of  the  Son,  and  the  love  of 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

2.  It  is  carried  on  even  when  we  neglect  or  offend 

her. 

3.  Capable  of  almost  numberless  degrees,  as  grace 

itself  is. 

4.  Desirous  of  being  more  and  more  exactingly  called 

on,  just  as  God  loves  prayer. 

5.  On  the  whole  her  maternal  solicitude  is  propor- 

tioned to  our  devotion,  just  as  God  is  gentle  with 
the  gentle,  liberal  with  the  liberal,  and  perverse 
with  the  perverse. 


296  PART  ni. 

More  confidence !  Ask  more !  Ask  greater  things ! 
It  is  no  dream:  the  hour  is  to  come  when  we  shall 
see  her.  We  shall  hear  her  voice  and  be  delighted 
by  her  beauty,  and  kiss  those  hands  which  have  sent 
us  so  many  graces ;  and  then,  and  not  till  then,  shall 
we  know  to  the  full  the  abounding  joy  and  exultation 
with  which  all  heaven  and  its  angels  are  overflowing 
because  the  Queen  of  paradise,  the  dear  Empress  of 
angels  and  of  men,  your  Mother  and  mine,  Avas  through 
the  omnipotence  of  unutterable  love,  conceived  without 
stain  of  sin ! 


3. 

THE  MOTHER  OF  THE  IMMACULATE  QUEEN. 

God  vouchsafes  to  make  preparations  for  His  great 
works,  as  men  do,  and  for  our  sake :   they  are  full  of 
beauty,  wisdom,  and  winningness.     Thus  predestination 
preluded  creation. 
I.  Preparations  for  the  Immaculate  Conception. 

1.  On  earth. 

(1)  The  yearnings  of  Eve  and  of  all  generations 

for  the  Mother  of  the  Deliverer. 

(2)  The  burden  of  this  desire  upon  the  hearts  of 

the  good  and  holy. 

(3)  The  weary  sighs  and  tears  of  the  patriarchs 

and  prophets.     Elias  and  Carmel. 

(4)  The  needs  of  the  sin-desolated  world  coming 

to  a  head. 

(5)  The  tremulous  supernatural  expectation  dif- 

fused over  the  earth. 

2.  In  Heaven. 


OUE  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.   297 

(1)  Her  predestination. 

(2)  Her  not  being  included  in  the  decree  which 

regarded  sin. 

(3)  The  Divine  Persons  concur  in  electing  her  to 

be  the  Mother  of  the  Incarnate  Word. 

(4)  The  Eternal  Son  in  His  wisdom  conceives  the 

idea  of  her  glorious  soul. 

(5)  The  angels  behold  the  idea  of  their   Queen 

in   Him.      Where  their  sanctity  ends,  hers 
begins. 
II.  The  theatre  of  the  actual  mystery. 

1.  Again  God  chooses,  as  He  chose  Mary ;  His  choice 

must  be  a  great  saint,  full  of  the  peculiar  spirit 
of  Jesus. 

2.  She  must  be  an  image  of  the  suffering  and  abase- 

ment of  Jesus  and  Mary. 

3.  St.  Anne — her  life,  and  that  of  St.  Joachim. 

4.  The   mystery  accomplished :    announced   by  an- 

gels,  hidden   like   Incarnation,   the   crown   of 
humility. 

5.  From  that  moment  St.  Anne  was  the  queen  of 

earth ;    God's  gifts  to  her,  retinue  of  angels, 
inward  holiness  and  joy. 

6.  St.  Anne  begins  the  devotion  to  the  Immaculate 

Conception,  which  the  Church  now  grounds  upon 
an  article  of  faith. 
III.  The  mysteries  of  St.  Anne. 

1.  To  her  God's  beautiful   eternal  secret    is   con- 

fided. 

2.  Her  joy  in  Mary's  infancy,  and  her  wonder  at  her 

childish  actions. 

3.  Her  heroic  sacrifice  of  her  in  the  temple,  like 

Mary's  at  the  Presentation. 


298  PART  III. 

4.  Her  death — she  receives  from  the  Soul  of  Jesus 

the  beatific  vision — she  is  with  Mary  during  the 
forty  days — ascends  with  Jesus. 

5.  Her  joy  at  Mary's  Assumption  and  Coronation. 
IV.  The  prerogatives  of  St.  Anne. 

1.  Prerogatives  of   the  saints   of    the    Hypostatic 

Union. 

2.  Power  with  Joseph,  as  Mary's  husband. 

3.  Power  with  Mary,  as  her  mother,  like  Mary's  power 

with  Jesus. 

4.  Power  with  Jesus,  because  of  the   Immaculate 

Conception. 

5.  Power  with  the  angels,  as  a  sort  of  queen-mother. 

6.  Power  with  the  apostles,  on  the  same  ground. 

7.  Power  with  the  Holy  Trinity,  as  the  elect  vessel 

and  theatre  of  their  greatest  grace. 
Let  all  who  have  a  devotion  to  the  Immaculate 
Conception  put  themselves  in  a  special  way  under 
St.  Anne.  It  was  St.  Anne,  who  opened  in  the  secret 
solemnities  of  that  ever-blessed  mystery  the  everlasting 
jubilee  of  Jesus,  and  it  was  within  her  womb  that  God 
granted  the  first  and  the  completest  plenary  indulgence 
in  the  world ! 


4. 

THE  IMMACULATE   QUEEN. 

I.  Jesus  present  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

1.  We  have  to  speak  of  the  Mother  in  the  Presence 

of  the  Son. 

2.  He  is  present  as  God,  with  a  peculiar  presence  of 

the  Most  Holy  Trinity. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    299 

3.  As  man.     (1)  Prophet  of  the  world.     (2)  Priest. 

(3)  King.  (4)  Owner  of  all  temporal  things. 
(5)  Judge.  • 

4.  To   Mary   He    is    in    addition — (1)    Her   God. 

(2)  Her  Creator.  (3)  Her  Redeemer.  (4)  Her 
Son. 

5.  He  is  come,  we  have  dared  to  bring   Him   to 

keep  the  feast,  just  as  we  call  her  to  come 
and  worship  Him  for  us  in  the  Litany  at 
Benediction. 

II.  The  three  kingdoms  of  Jesus  the  King:  Mary's 
place  in  them  all. 

1.  Nature. 

(1)  Below   the   angels.      1.    Joy   of  this   to   us. 

2.  Her  gifts  greater  than  theirs.  3.  Her 
exaltation  greater. 

(2)  The  same  as  that  of  saints,  and  sinners. 

(3)  The  same  as  the  nature,  by  which  Jesus  is 

Blessed  Sacrament,  prophet,  priest,  king  and 
judge. 

(4)  Both  the  spiritual  and   material  world  were 

created  because  of  Jesus  and  herself. 

2.  Grace. 

(1)  All  creation,  angelic  and  human,  resulted  in 

a  state  of  grace. 

(2)  Grace  in  baptism,  of  release  from  original  sin. 

(3)  Preservation  from  actual  mortal  sin. 

(4)  Exemption  from  venial  sin. 

(5)  Sanctifying  in  the  womb. 

(6)  Solitary    grace    of  Immaculate    Conception. 

1.  From  decree — 2.  From  momentary  touch 
— 3.  From  root  of  sin — 4.  Highest  act  of 
redeeming  grace — 5.  So  she  needed  redemp- 


300  PART  III. 

tion  most,  and  Jesus  was  more  truly  and 
highly  a  glorious  Redeemer  by  this  mystery 
than  by  the   redemption  of  all  the  world 
beside. 
3.  Glory. 

(1)  Baptized  infants. 

(2)  Multitudes  of  unplaced  saints. 

(3)  Angels. 

(4)  Hierarchy  of  the  Incarnation. 

(5)  Herself. 

(6)  The  Sacred  Humanity,  THEN  the  blaze  of  the 

Unspeakable  and  Incomprehensible  glory. 
III.  Her  great  unlikeness  to  Jesus  was  her  growth 
in  grace.     Hence  her  growth  in  the  Church. 
Scripture  authority. 

1.  Growth  in  heaven. 

(1)  Empty  throne  filled.  (2)  Accumulated  inter- 
cession. (3)  Love  of  the  angels.  (4)  Mul- 
titude of  the  daily  saved. 

2.  Growth  on  earth. 

(1)  By  doctrines.  (2)  By  feasts.  (3)  By  reli- 
gious orders.  (4)  By  saints.  (5)  By  coun- 
cils. (6)  By  popes.  (7.)  By  devout  people. 

3.  Growth  in  our  hearts. 

(1)  Love.  (2)  Faith.  (3)  Reverence.  (4) 
Confidence.  (5)  Thanksgiving  to  the  Most 
Holy  Trinity. 

Oh  how  the  spirit  of  the  coming  Christmas  leaps 
forward  into  our  hearts  to  teach  us  to  keep  this  feast. 
Angels  rejoice  and  triumph!  Oh  men,  rejoice  and 
ble.-s  the  abundance  of  redeeming  grace.  To-day  a 
Queen  is  created  for  you  of  the  House  of  David,  good 
tidings  of  great  joy  that  shall  be  to  all  the  people — a 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.  301 

Mother  is  given  to  us,  and  the  government  is  on  her 
shoulder,  and  her  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful, 
Counsellor,  the  most  high  Lady,  the  Mother  of  the 
Lord  to  come,  the  Princess  of  Peace.  Her  empire 
shall  be  multiplied,  of  her  peace  there  shall  be  no  end. 
Blessed  be  the  Most  High  God,  above  all  things  blessed 
for  the  Immaculate  Soul  of  Mary  which  He  this  day 
so  gloriously  created,  and  in  the  same  moment  so 
gloriously  redeemed. 

Oh  Blessed  Sacrament,  my  Lord  and  my  God,  ray 
Saviour  and  my  Judge,  true  Man  and  Son  of  Mary,  I 
a  sinner  have  dared  to  speak  of  Thy  sinless  Mother; 
forgive  me  and  be  indulgent  to  me  for  every  word 
which  has  fallen  short  of  her  immense  dignity  and 
incomparable  majesty,  and  for  the  sake  of  her  Immac- 
ulate Conception  grant  to  every  soul  here  to-night  the 
grace  to  love  Thy  Mother  according  to  Thy  command- 
ment, and  after  the  measure  of  Thy  Sacred  Heart,  so 
that  not  one  among  us  shall  be  lost ! 


X. 

PRAYING  FOR  SINNERS. 

The  world  has  a  great  many  wants,  and  good  Chris- 
tians have  a  great  many  wants  also  ;  but  it  so  happens 
that  the  world's  great  want  is  the  same  as  a  good  Chris- 
tian's great  want — a   right   appreciation  of   spiritual 
things.     This  want  is  the  source  of  all  mischief. 
I.  One  of  the  spiritual  things  in  question  is  the  favor 
of  Mary. 


302  PART  III. 

1.  Intellectually — what  is  there  you  would  not  sac- 

rifice for  it. 

2.  Except  the  grace  and  love  of  God,  what  can  come 

near  it  ? 

3.  Yet  we  do  not  appreciate  it  as  we  ought. 

4.  And  this  from  want  of  faith  in  her  power,  and 

want  of  experience  of  her  goodness. 

5.  This  month  we  are  going  to  offer  devotions  to  her, 

and  likely  to  secure  her  favor:    and  to-day  I 
will  speak  of  praying  for  those  who  are  in  sin. 

II.  The  world  of  sinners. 

1.  The  dreadfulness  of  their  state  in  the  sight  of  the 

angels. 

2.  Their  multitude,  and  daily  increase. 

3.  Their  secrecy — such  unlikely  persons. 

4.  The  grace  they  have  resisted. 

5.  Their  immense  power  against  God. 
Yet  on  the  other  side — 

1.  The  good  and  sweetness  there  is  amongst  them. 

2.  How  much  also  to  pity,  and  often  to  extenuate. 

3.  How  much  struggle  also,  although  inefficacious. 

4.  What  immense  capabilities  many  of  them  have 

for  glorifying  God. 

5.  How  much  work  one  real  conversion  does,  and 

how  many  miracles  it  involves. 

III.  This  is  Mary's  world. 

1.  It  is  given  over  to  her  in  a  special  and  official 

manner. 

2.  She  knows  how  Jesus  yearns  over  it. 

3.  Hence  those  have  almost  a  claim  upon  her  mercy, 

who  are  so  sadly  in  need  of  it. 

4.  How  much  love  of  her  there  is  even  in  that  dark 

multitude. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINT&    303 

5.  Yet  iu  a  great  measure  she  has  to  work  through 
us:  just  as  God  vouchsafes  to  depend  on  us 
Himself. 
IV.  The  devotion  of  praying  for  sinners. 

1 .  Almost  the  favorite  devotion  of  the  saints. 

2.  How  it  cultivates  union  with  Jesus,  and  fosters 

love  of  Mary. 

3.  Praying    for    particular    sinners,   or    classes    of 

sinners,  or  places. 

4.  Praying,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Holy  Souls,  for 

those  God  wills,  and  leaving  all  to  Him. 

Might  I  speak  of  the  shape  of  this  devotion,  which 
is  sweetest  to  myself?  Pool  of  Bethsaida  * — the  man 
who  was  there  for  thirty-eight  years — so  let  us  pray 
for  the  soul  which  is  close  to  conversion,  has  been 
waiting  longest,  and  has  none  near  to  put  him  in.  I 
do  not  think  it  would  be  out  of  the  way  to  expect  to 
convert  one  soul  a  day,  and  give  it  to  Mary  to  offer. 
We  should  not  see  our  work — it  might  be  by  the  burning 
rivers  of  Africa,  or  on  the  icy  shores  near  the  Pole,  or 
in  the  great  city,  or  in  the  quiet  country — it  might  be 
one  of  our  own  kith  and  kin,  or  a  stranger  and  a 
foreigner — it  might  be  a  king  or  a  laborer,  a  child  at 
school  who  has  just  committed  his  first  mortal  sin,  or 
an  old  man  in  his  agony  with  thousands  of  them.  But 
these  would  be  among  the  delightful  secrets  which  we 
should  learn  in  heaven,  and  perhaps  from  Mary's  lips. 

We  should  know  that  we  were  working  for  God — 
we  should  be  sure  we  were  working  with  success — it 
would  almost  be  sweeter  because  it  is  all  in  the  dark, 
in  that  darkness  of  faith  which  will  one  day  change  so 
sweetly  into  light. 

*  St.  John  v. 


304  PAET  III. 

XL 
THE  ASSUMPTION. 

To-day  is  the  feast  of  the  beautiful  mystery — the 
first  function  of  the  Church  triumphant  in  heaven,  the 
end  for  which  God  created  the  world  coming  into  view  ; 
let  us  see  in  what  light  it  puts  the  character  of  God 
before  us. 

I.  Humility.     The  Assumption   is   God's  coming  to 
crown  His  own  creation. 

1.  It  is  the  proper  virtue  of  a  creature. 

2.  It  was  so  of  the  angels,  and  saved  them. 

3.  It  is  so  of  the  Church,  and  is  marked  in  all  her 

worship. 

4.  The  want  of  humility  in  the  world  is  just  the 

evidence  of  its  having  fallen  from  God. 

II.  God  cannot  be  humble  ;  yet  there  is  a  characteristic 

of  the  Divine  operations  answering  to  that 
virtue :  we  cannot  name  it ;  it  is  shewn — 

1.  In  the  unostentatiousness  of  creation. 

2.  In  the  renewal  and  conservation  of  creation. 

3.  In  His  omnipresence. 

4.  In  the  delay  of  judgment,  and  in  silence  under 

outrage. 

5.  In  his  quiet  hidden  way  of  imparting  grace. 

III.  God  came  to  practise  humility  by  the  Incarnation. 

1.  In  His  choice  of  poverty  and  suffering. 

2.  In   what    followed   from   the    Incarnation  —  the 

obedience  of  the  Omnipotent,  the  poverty  of  the 
Lord  of  All,  the  hiddenness  of  the  Omnipresent, 
the  toil  of  the  Creator. 

3.  In  the  Blessed  Sacrament  daily. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.  305 

4.  In   the  humiliations    of   His    dear    Spouse    the 

Church. 
IV.  Mary  the  humblest  of  creatures. 

1.  With  the  angel.  2.  With  St.  Elizabeth.  3.  With 
St.  Joseph.  4.  Her  purification  and  obedience 
to  other  laws.  5.  The  silence  of  the  Evange- 
lists. 

Thus  the  Assumption  was  a  consistent  manifestation 
of  the  Creator's  character,  a  revelation  of  His  taste,  a 
merciful  disclosure  of  His  genius. 

Oh  let  us  fall  in  love  with  sweet  humility,  let  us  keep 
ourselves  low,  and  nestle  in  the  thought  of  our  own 
unworthiness ;  let  us  wonder  God  should  bear  with  us 
at  all,  and  so  learn  sweet  manners  to  bear  with  the  way- 
wardness of  others,  and  this  night  from  the  depths  of 
the  fallen  earth  let  us  look  at  this  grand  action  of  our 
Creator,  and  worshipping  His  ways,  use  our  mother's 
words  unto  Him:  Magnificat  anima  mea  Dominum,  et 
exultavit  spirUus  meus  in  Deo  salutari  meo :  and  why  ? 
Quia  respexit  humilitatem  andllce  suce.  Deposuit  potentes 
de  sede  et  exaltavit  humiles :  He  cast  Lucifer  from  his 
throne,  and  set  Mary  nigh  unto  Himself. 


XII. 
THE  ASSUMPTION. 

World-wearied,  sin-stained,  earth-bound !  What  have 
we  to  do  with  this  great  glory  ?  Yet  it  has  lessons  for 
all,  besides  the  wonder  and  the  beauty  and  the  joy  of 
our  mother's  glory,  and  the  vision  of  a  mighty  work  of 
God. 

Vol.  I.  U 


306  PART  III. 

I.  How  great  nature  can  be  with  grace. 

1.  She  has  not  outstepped  or  outstripped  her  nature. 

2.  It  would  be  hard  to  put  a  limit  to  what  nature 

can  be. 

3.  Yet  we  are  always  fancying  we  have  got  to  our 

own  limit. 

II.  How  little  without  grace. 

1.  For  what  is  Mary's  nature  in  itself? 

2.  What  has  she  from  nature  independent  of  grace  ? 

3.  Her  nature  is  only  visible  in  the  fires  of  grace  as 

the  three  children  were  in  the  furnace. 

III.  The  abundance  of  grace. 

1.  See  what  she  had  in  number  and  in  kind. 

2.  Yet  she  has  not  nearly  exhausted  the  possibilities 

of  grace. 

3.  Nay,  what  abundance  have  we  not  had  ourselves? 

IV.  Correspondence  to  grace  is  of  itself  the  whole  work. 

1.  Her  correspondence  is  the  nearest  interpretation 

of  the  mystery  of  her  greatness. 

2.  What  correspondence  is  in  detail,  and  how  it  mul- 

tiplies grace. 

3.  Oh,  the  room  our  graces  leave  us,  and  our  lost 

opportunities. 

Mary  is  the  manifestation  of  the  kingdom  of  grace, 
and  the  type  of  God's  way  with  all  our  souls ;  singular, 
yet  not  singular ;  admirable,  yet  imitable  also ;  standing 
alone,  yet  in  the  midst  of  us ;  moved  up  to  God  as  His 
sinless  Mother,  yet  removed  from  us  no  further  than  a 
mother  from  her  children ! 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    307 

XIII. 
ROSARY  SUNDAY. 

I.  The  position  which  the   Rosary   occupies  in   the 

Church. 

1.  It    is    not    a    special    devotion,  but   unites  all 

devotions. 

2.  It  distinguishes  no  order,  but  all  orders. 

3.  It  is  to  the  laity  almost  what  office  is  to  the  clergy. 

4.  A  true  Catholic  mind  can  hardly  now  be  formed 

without  it. 

5.  It  is  distinguished  above  all  other  devotions  by 

the  approbations  of  the  Church. 

II.  The  Rosary  viewed  as  an  instrument  of  power  in 

itself. 

1.  Its  peculiar  power  on  earth  in  forming  character. 

so  that  it  is  a  Catholic  touchstone. 

2.  Its   influence   in   heaven  shewn   from   its  being 

revealed. 

2.  Its  influence  in  Purgatory  from  the  immensity  of 
its  indulgences. 

4.  As  a  profession  of  faith  also. 

5.  As  a  shield  against  many  temptations. 

III.  It  is  also  an  instrument  of  power  as  a  teacher. 

1.  It  illustrates  the  position  of  our   Lady  to  our 

Lord,  and  is  another  way  of  looking  at  their 
Mysteries. 

2.  It  teaches  also  how  she  is  a  way  to  Him. 

3.  Also  it  is  what  she  did  all  her  life  herself:  she 

rose  to  great  heights  by  incessant  meditation  of 
Jesus. 


308  PART  III. 

4.  Therefore  it  shows  us  what  she  wishes  us  to  do ; 

it  is  her  testament,  as  the  Holy  Eucharist  is 
the  testament  of  Jesus. 

5.  Hence  it  is  the  truest  means  of  loving  her ;  for 

love   consists,    (1)   in   obedience ;    and   (2)   in 

imitation. 

In  consequence  of  all  these  blessings  the  devil  makes 
the  Rosary  a  special  subject  of  temptations,  weariness, 
contempt,  and  the  like.  Persevere  in  it,  and  it  will 
itself  be  the  chain  of  your  own  final  perseverance. 


XIV. 

THE  LETTER  KILLETH,  BUT  THE  SPIRIT 
GIVETH  LIFE* 

People  who  aim  at  doing  their  duty,  are  divisionable 
into  two  classes,  (1)  they  who  follow  the  letter,  and 
(2)  they  who  take  the  spirit. 

I.  Our  Blessed  Lady  an  exemplification  of  the  spirit, 
not  the  letter. 

1.  She  got  from  the  Scriptures  a  true  notion  of  the 

Messias  and  His  kingdom. 

2.  Her  conduct  to  St.  Joseph,  secrecy,  marriage,  &c. 

3.  With  our  Lord,   especially  in  the  marriage   at 

Cana. 

4.  Her  receiving  St.  John,  and  us  with  him. 

5.  Thus  the  letter  of  our  Lord's  words  hurt  her  not. 
II.  Conduct   of  those  who    take    the  spirii>  with   re- 
gard to — 

*  Preached  to  the  Enfants  de  Marie  at  Roehampton. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.  309 

1.  Genius,  and  spirit,  and  movement  of  the  Church, 

as  well  as  her  doctrines. 

2.  Way  of  holding  doctrines. 

3.  View  of  the  spiritual  life. 

4.  Promptness  of  obedience. 

5.  Intercourse  with  the  world. 

6.  Supernatural  tendency. 

7.  The  Child  of  Mary  ever  divining  the  high  and 

right  path. 

III.  What  happens  to  the  mere  disciples  of  the  letter. 
They 

1.  Often  miss  real  duty,  and  get  gradually  entangled 

in  a  positively  wrong  course  of  conduct. 

2.  Do  no  great  works  for  God  or  the  Church. 

3.  Are  less  winning  and  attractive. 

The  power  of  high  principle  and  noble  purpose  and 
lofty  aim,  wherein  lies  the  sphere  and  mission  of  the 
Enfants  de  Marie. 


XV. 

MEMORIALS  OF  MARY  AND  HER  SIXTY- 
THREE  YEARS. 

1.  Her  eternal  predestination. 

2.  Her  Immaculate  Conception. 

3.  Her  first  use  of  reason. 

4.  Her  first  act  of  Divine  love. 

5.  Her  pure  nativity. 

6.  Her  obedience  to  SS.  Joachim  and  Anne. 

7.  Her  receiving  her  beautiful  name. 


310  PART  III. 

8.  Her  presentation  in  the  temple  when  three  years 

old. 

9.  Her  holy  sojourn  and  retreat  there. 

10.  Her  preservation  from  all  actual  sin. 

11.  Her  pure  nuptials. 

12.  The  Annunciation. 

13.  Her  humble  answer  to  St.  Gabriel. 

14.  The  Incarnation. 

15.  The  perplexity  of  St.  Joseph. 

16.  The  visitation  and  sanctifi cation  of  St.  John  the 

Baptist. 

17.  Her  innocence  declared  by  the  angel  and   hon- 

ored by  St.  Joseph. 

18.  Her  expectation  of  her  delivery. 

19.  The  rebuff  from  the  people  of  Bethlehem. 

20.  The  entry  into  the  stable. 

21.  Her  ecstatic  contemplation  of  the  Incarnation. 

22.  The  birth  of  her  Jesus. 

23.  The  joy  of  her  first  services  to  Him. 

24.  Her  first  suckling  of  Him. 

25.  The  devotion  of  the  shepherds. 

26.  The  adoration  of  the  Kings. 

27.  The  circumcision  and  naming  of  Jesus. 

28.  Her  purification,  and  presentation  of  Jesus. 

29.  The  joy  of  Simeon  and  his  prophecies. 

30.  The  flight  into  Egypt. 

31.  The  return  to  Nazareth. 

32.  The  loss  of  Jesus  for  three  days. 

33.  The  finding  Him  in  the  temple. 

34.  Her  maternal  authority  over  Him  at  Nazareth. 

35.  Her  sorrow  at  the  death  of  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Anne. 

36.  Her  joy    in    following  Jesus  and  hearing  His 

sermons. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    311 

37.  Her  success  in  obtaining  the  first  miracle  at  Cana. 

38.  Her  farewell  to   Jesus  when   He  went  to  His 

Passion. 

39.  Her  meeting  Him  on  the  road  to  Calvary. 

40.  The  nailing  to  the  cross  and  the  elevation  of  it 

in  her  presence. 

41.  Her  receiving  St.  John  as  her  legacy. 

42.  The  death  of  Jesus. 

43.  The  piercing  of  His  side. 

44.  The  descent  from  the  cross. 

45.  Her  receiving  His  body  on  her  lap. 

46.  Her  helping  to  bury  Him. 

47.  Her  tears  during  Saturday's  solitude. 

48.  Her  first  visit  from  Jesus  risen. 

49.  Her  witnessing  the  Ascension. 

50.  Her  receiving  the  Holy  Ghost  at  Pentecost. 

51.  Her  first  Communion  from  the  hands  of  St.  John 

52.  Her  solicitude  for  the  infant  Church.] 

53.  Her  desire  for  death. 

54.  Her  dying  of  love. 

55.  Her  burial  by  the  Apostles. 

56.  The  resurrection  of  her  body. 

57.  Her  rising  through  the  air. 

58.  Her  entry  into  Heaven. 

59.  Her  reception  by  the  Eternal  Father. 

60.  Her  Coronation. 

61.  Her  sweet  empire  over  the  Angels. 

62.  Her  diligent  love  of  the  Souls  in  Purgatory. 

63.  Her  protection  of  us  poor  sinners  upon  earth. 


312  PART  IIL 

XVI. 
THE  JOYS  OF  OUR  DEAR  LADY. 

I.  Her  seven  earthly  Joys. 

1.  The  Annunciation. 

2.  The  Nativity. 

3.  The  adoration  of  the  Three  Kings. 

4.  The  Resurrection. 

5.  The  Ascension. 

6.  The  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

7.  The  Assumption. 

II.  Her  Seven  heavenly  joys,  revealed  by  her  to  St 
Thomas  of  Canterbury. 

1.  Her  exaltation  above  the  Angels. 

2.  Her  seat  at  the  right  hand  of  Jesus. 

3.  The  obedience  of  the  Blessed  to  her. 

4.  Her  being  the  new  Ornament  of  Paradise. 

5.  Her  conformity  to  the  Will  of  God. 

6.  Her  being  the  channel  of  all  grace. 

7.  The  increase  of  her  joys  up  to  the  day  of  Judg- 

ment, and  their  eternity. 


part 

OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS. 

^  SECTION  II. 

THE  SAINTS. 


813 


I 

MEDITATIONS  ON  THE  HOLY  ANGELS. 

I.  The  silence  of  God  before  the  creation  of  the  Holy 
Angels. 

1.  His  infinite  happiness  without  creatures. 

2.  His  independence  of  all  relation  to  them. 

3.  The  immensity  and  variety  of  possible  worlds  and 

creatures. 
II.  The  Creation. 

1.  God's  choice  of  this  world  out  of  all  possible 

worlds. 

2.  The  utter  dependence  of  creatures  on  Him. 

3.  The  eternal  silence  broken  by  the  beautiful  crea- 

tion of  Angels. 

III.  The  existence  of  the  Angels. 

1.  Spiritual  substances  possible. 

2.  Suitable  for  God's  glory  and  the  good  of  the 

world. 

3.  Belief  of  all  ages  in  the  existence  of  Angels. 

IV.  The  spirituality  of  the  Angels. 

1.  The  substance  of  the  Angels  the  most  subtle  in 

the  world. 

2.  They  are  more  spiritual  than  the  soul  of  man. 

3.  Yet  gross,  and  as  it  were  material,  compared  with 

God. 

315 


316  PART  III. 

V.  The  great  number  of  the  Angels. 

1.  The  ninth  choir  contains,  according  to  a  common 

opinion,  as  many  guardians  as  there  are,  have 
been,  or  will  be  souls  of  men. 

2.  Eight  choirs  remain  unnumbered. 

3.  The  great  glory  of  God  from  the  multitude  of  His 

courtiers. 

VI.  The  distinction  of  the  Angels. 

1.  They  might  have  been  all  of  one  species. 

2.  Probably  they  are  of  twenty-seven  species,  three 

in  each  choir. 

3.  Glory  of  the  Creator  in  this  distinction. 

VII.  The  order  of  the  Angels. 

1.  St.  Paul,  ravished  to  the  third  heaven,  classes  them 

in  three  hierarchies. 

2.  These  subdivided  into  three  choirs. 

3.  The  choirs  into  three  ranks  of  different  species. 

VIII.  The  understanding  of  the  Angels  (1). 

1.  Their  substance  the  most  noble  after  that  of  God, 

and  so  their  understanding  the  most  subtle. 

2.  Their  knowledge  of  the  secrets  of  nature. 

3.  Their  knowledge  of  theology  and  the  attributes  of 

God. 

IX.  The  understanding  of  the'  Angels  (2). 

1.  They  receive  their  ideas  and  images  immediately 

from  God. 

2.  Their  knowledge  is  intuitive. 

3.  Their  understanding  is  always  in  action. 

X.  The  things  which  the  Angels  do  not  know  by  their 

natural  science. 

1.  Things  future. 

2.  The  secrets  of  hearts. 

3.  The  Incarnation  and  its  mysteries. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.     317 

XI.  The  will  of  the  Angels. 

1.  The  freedom  of  it. 

2.  The  marvellous  power  of  it  as  regards  God. 

3.  Their  love  of  each  other. 

XII.  The  movement  of  the  Angels. 

1.  The  perfection  of  it. 

2.  They   move   all   at   once,    as    being    indivisible 

substances. 

3.  Their  great  power  in  moving  other  substances, 

whether  spiritual  or  material. 

XIII.  The  time,  place,  and  end  of  their  creation. 

1.  The  time — when  God  said,  let  there  be  light,  or 

when  He  created  the  heavens. 

2.  The  place — in  the  heavens. 

3.  The  end — to  adorn  and  beautify  the  heavens  for 

the  greater  glory  of  God. 

XIV.  The  supernatural  gifts  received  by  the  Angels" 
at  the  moment  of  their  creation. 

1.  Sanctifying  grace,  with  faith,  hope,  charity,  and 

other  infused  virtues. 

2.  Revelations,  as  of  the   Most  Holy  Trinity,  In- 

carnation, guardianship  of  men,  future  events, 
fires  of  hell,  &c. 

3.  Actual  grace  to  elicit  supernatural  acts  and  merit. 

XV.  The  different  orders  of  Angels. 

1.  They   have    received   different    graces   and    ex- 

cellences. 

2.  They  have  each  distinguishing  and  special  virtues. 

3.  All  other  virtues  are,  however,  included  in  the 

case  of  each,  in  their  own  special  eminence. 

XVI.  The  first  hierarchy. 

1.  The  Seraphim,  inflamed  with  love. 

2.  The  Cherubim,  glorious  for  supernatural  science. 


318  PART  III. 

3.  The  Thrones,  eminent  for  special  submission  to 
the  Divine  Will. 

XVII.  The  second  hierarchy. 

1.  The  Dominations,  filled  with  zeal   for  the  king- 

dom of  God. 

2.  The  Virtues,  replete  with  invincible  force  in  the 

service  of  God. 

3.  The  Powers,  possessed  of  marvellous  benignity. 

XVIII.  The  third  hierarchy. 

1.  The    Principalities,    eminent    for   purity   of   in- 

tention. 

2.  The  Archangels,  lovely  for  their  peculiar  parti- 

cipation in  the  virtues  both  of  their  superiors 
and  inferiors. 

3.  The  Angels,  delightful  to  God  from  the  humility 

with  which  they  govern  the  world. 

XIX.  The  probation  of  the  Angels. 

1.  The  time  of  their  temptation  was  very  short. 

2.  Two-thirds  persevered  in  their  peculiar  graces. 

3.  The  battle  in  heaven. 

XX.  The  sinning  Angels. 

1.  There  were  some  of  all  the  orders. 

2.  Their  sin  was  pride. 

3.  Especially,   St.  Thomas  thinks,  complacency  in 

their  own  exceeding  beauty. 

XXI.  The  judgment  of  the  Angels. 

1.  They  had  a  particular  judgment,  though   they 

will  have  to  appear  again  at  the  general  judg- 
ment. 

2.  God   gave   those   who    had    persevered   a  third 

beatitude,  in  addition  to  their  natural  and  super- 
natural baauty;  it  consisted  in  the  Beatific 
Vision  of  Himself. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    319 

3.  The  awfulness  of  His  justice  upon  the  evil  Angels, 
though  He  foresaw  all  their  hatred  of  Him,  and 
the  misery  they  would  cause.  • 

XXII.  The  principal  pains  of  the  fallen  Angels. 

1.  The  pain  of  loss. 

2.  The  pain  of  sense,  although  they  are  spirits. 

3.  The  knowledge  that  it  is  all  irrevocable. 

XXIII.  The  occupations  of  the  fallen  Angels  against 

the  souls  of  men. 

1.  They  tempt  man,  because  they  envy  him  and  hate 

God. 

2.  They  cannot  hurt  man  against  his  will  by  these 

temptations. 

3.  The  means  of  resisting  evil  angels  are  prayer, 

humility,  and  the  flight  of  occasions. 

XXIV.  The  possession  of  men's  bodies  by  the  fallen 

Angels. 

1.  It  is  through  envy  of  man,  and  a  blasphemous 

desire  of  imitating  the  Incarnation. 

2.  This  possession  is  subject  to  the  exorcisms  of  the 

Church,  though,  as  it  grows  more  infrequent,  it 
seems  more  difficult  to  cure. 

3.  The  misery  of  possession  far   less  than  that  of 

wilful  sin. 

XXV.  The  language  and  light  of  Angels. 

1.  They  speak  to  each  other  by  their  wills. 

2.  They  ask  light  of  those  above  them  and  commu- 

nicate it  to  those  below  them. 

3.  The  words  of  the  superior  Angels  purify,  enlighten, 

and  make  perfect  those  below  them. 

XXVI.  The  commissions  of  the  Angels  in  the  world. 
1.  To    move    and    rule   the    earth    and    heavenly 

bodies. 


320  PART  IIL 

2.  To  undertake  the   protection  of  kingdoms  and 

empires. 

3.  To  guard  each  particular  soul. 

XXVII.  The  Guardian  Angels ;  of  what  order  they  are. 

1.  Some  say  they  are  from  the  ninth  choir  only. 

2.  St.  Thomas  thinks  that  the  angels  of  the  first  four 

choirs  never  go  from  the  presence  of  God  ;  and 
that  the  Guardian  Angels  are  from  the  other 
five  choirs. 

3.  Others,  taking  St.  Paul*  literally,  think  that  some 

of  all  the  choirs  are  deputed  to  guard  the  souls 
of  men. 

XXVIII.  The  Guardian  Angels ;   at  what  time  they 

guard  us. 

1.  They  begin  as  soon  as  the  body  is  joined  by  the 

soul  in  the  womb. 

2.  They  do  so  till  death,  and  at  the  general  judgment. 

3.  The  Guardian  Angel  of  Judas  did  not  desert  him 

so  long  as  breath  was  in  him. 

XXIX.  The  Guardian  Angels ;   how  they  guard  us. 

1.  With  most  affectionate  condescendance. 

2.  With  inexpressible  zeal. 

3.  With  perpetual  joy. 

XXX.  Comparison  of  men  and  Angels  (1). 

1.  Men  are  inferior  to  the  Angels  in  natural  gifts. 

2.  The  Angels  are  a  simpler  image  of  the  Divine  per- 

fections. 

3.  Yet  the  souls  of  Jesus  and  Mary  surpassed  them 

in  dignity  and  grace. 

XXXI.  Comparison  of  men  and  Angels  (2).     They 

are  equal — 

1.  In  having  God  for  their  Creator. 
*Heb.  i,  14. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    321 

2.  In  sharing  eternal  life. 

3.  In  inhabiting  the  same  blessed  city. 

XXXII.  Comparison  of  men  and  Angels.     (3)  Men 
are  superior  to  Angels — 

1.  In   the   Elevation  of  the  Sacred   Humanity  of 

Jesus. 

2.  In  that  they  undergo  a  ruder  probation. 

3.  In  that  they  rise  by  repentance  when  they  have 

fallen. 

XXXIII.  The  worship  of  the  Angels. 

1.  Because  of  their  eminent  sanctity,  power,  and 

beauty. 

2.  By  frequent  meditation   on  them,  acts  of  love, 

prayers,   imitations    of   their    perfections,   and 
sweet   modesty. 

3.  Of  those  Angels  particularly  of  the  churches  we 
pass  by,  of  our  friends,  of  our  enemies,  of  our  superiors, 
our  own  Guardian,  the  seven  that  stand   before  the 
throne,    and    especially    SS.   Michael,    Gabriel,    and 
Raphael,  whom   the   Church   honors   by   name  with 
special   offices. 

XXXIV.  The  worship  of  St.  Michael. 

1.  As  Guardian  Angel  of  the  Sacred  Humanity. 

2.  As  Guardian  Angel  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

3.  As  the  slayer  of  Antichrist. 

4.  As  the  sounder  of  the  trumpet  at  the  Resurrection. 

5.  As  the  bearer  of  the  cross  at  the  last  judgment. 

XXXV.  The  worship  of  St.  Gabriel. 

1.  As  promising  the  Messias  to  Daniel. 

2.  As  appearing  to  Zacharias. 

3.  As  Guardian  Angel  to  our  Blessed  Lady. 

4.  As  bringing  the  Hail  Mary  to  earth. 

Vol.  I.  X 


322  PAET  III. 

XXXVT.  The  worship  of  St.  Raphael. 

1.  As  the  physician  of  the  soul. 

2.  As  restoring  sight  to  the  blind. 

3.  As  knowing  the  secret  powers  of  nature. 

4.  As  troubling  the  waters  of  Bethsaida. 

5.  As  binding  Satan  in  the  desert. 

6.  As  guide  to  man  in  the  pilgrimage  of  life. 

7.  As  one  of  the  great  and  chief  seven  of  the  Angels 


II. 


MOTIVES  FOR  A  PECULIAR  AFFECTION 

TOWARDS  OUR  OWN  DEAR 

GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

I.  Because  although  he  is  a  most  noble  and  pure  spirit, 

and  filled  with  the  love  of  God,  the  Almighty 
has  deputed  him  to  assist  continually  a  creature 
so  vile  and  abject  as  man,  and  takes  pleasure  in 
communicating  to  us  all  manner  of  good  through 
him. 

II.  Because   from  the   first   moment  of  our  life  our 

Angel  has  taken  charge  of  us  with  a  most  tender 
love,  beyond  that  of  brother,  father,  or  mother, 
and  that  without  any  end  or  advantage  of  his 
own  ;  and  he  employs  his  entire  energies  simply 
for  our  greater  good. 

III.  Because  he  never  abandons  us  for  so  much  as  a 

single  moment,  although  we  may  totally  forget 
him,  be  ungrateful  for  his  kindnesses,  reject  his 
lights  and  inspirations,  and  live  in  habits  of  sin. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    323 

IV.  Because  he  has  taken  a  most  particular  care  of 
us  when  we  were  children,  protecting  us  and 
defending  us  from  many  dangers  to  which  we 
were  exposed  at  that  age. 

V,  Because  he  acts  continually  as  our  master, 
illuminating  our  understanding  with  the  know- 
ledge of  God,  and  of  eternal  truths ;  from  him 
come  all  good  thoughts,  inspirations,  lights  and 
hints  which  help  us  on  the  way  of  salvation. 

VI.  Because  he  is  always  endeavoring  to  incline  our 
will  to  good  works,  instilling  into  our  hearts 
holy  affections,  kindling  heavenly  desires  in  us, 
and  inflaming  our  love  towards  God  and  our 
neighbor. 

VII.  Because  by  his  power  he  is  always  removing  the 
obstacles  which  stand  in  the  way  of  perfection, 
and  dexterously  setting  aside  occasions  of  sin 
from  before  us. 

VIII.  Because  in  those  occasions  of  sin,  which  meet  us 
without  any  fault  of  our  own,  he  assists  us, 
gives  us  interior  warnings,  or  sometimes  exterior 
signs,  and  animates  us  to  overcome  the  sin. 

IX.  Because  he  bridles  the  force  of  the  devils,  that 
they  may  not  tempt  us  beyond  our  powers, 
and  gives  us  fortitude  in  dealing  with  tempta- 
tions. 

X.  Because  in  troubles  of  spirit  and  sufferings  of 
body,  he  comforts  us  to  suffer  patiently,  animates 
our  hope,  and  keeps  before  us  the  thought  of 
merit  and  reward. 

XI.  Because,  when  we  invoke  him  in  our  doubts,  he 
always  gives  us  counsel,  and  lets  us  know  which 
are  the  safest  resolutions. 


324  PART  III. 

XII.  Because  he  prays  continually  for  us,  and  offers 
our  prayers  to  God,  and  obtains  graces  for  us, 
and  other  favors  which  are  not  contrary  to 
the  Divine  Will  and  to  the  good  of  our  souls: 
he  also  presents  all  our  good  works  to  God,  and 
keeps  an  affectionately  strict  remembrajce  of 
them  himself,  against  the  judgment  day. 

XIII.  Because  he  advances  and  promotes  our  tem- 

poral affairs,  our  fortunes,  and  the  health  of 
our  bodies,  and  is  God's  secondary  cause  in 
all  these  things. 

XIV.  Because  he  is  never  disturbed,  neither  does  he 

abandon  us  when  we  fall  into  sin ;  but  he 
compassionates  us  with  tender  love,  and  stim- 
ulates us  to  penance,  and  is  skilful  in  de- 
vising methods  of  winning  us  back  to  God. 
XV.  Because  when  we  resist  his  sweet  goads  of  love, 
he  corrects  us,  frightens  us,  punishes  us  with 
accidents  and  sicknesses,  persecutions  and 
disappointments. 

XVI.  Because  he  sometimes  assumes  an  aerial  body 
and  appears  in  various  forms,  either  for  the 
good  of  the  person  he  guards,  or  for  the 
instruction  and  utility  of  others. 
XVII.  Because  in  our  sickness  he  vouchsafes  to 
humble  himself  to  the  most  abject  ministries 
for  our  consolation  and  repose. 

XVIII.  Because  he  assists  us  at  our  death  with  a  most 
diligent  solicitude,  procures  for  our  souls  all 
external  spiritual  aids,  invisibly  defends  us 
from  Satan,  and  comforts  us  in  that  tremen- 
dous passage. 

XIX.  Because  he  does  not  abandon  us  in  the  parti- 
cular judgment,  but  conducts  the  soul  to  pur- 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    325 

gatory ,  consoles  it  there,  and  takes  solicitous  pains 

to  procure  our  deliverance. 

XX.  Because  when  the  soul  has  been  cleansed,  he 
introduces  it  into  the  glory  of  heaven,  and 
places  it  in  the  place  prepared  for  it  among 
the  angelic  choirs. 


III. 

DEVOTIONAL  PRACTICES  IN  HONOR  OF 
OUR  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

I.  To  keep  his  continual  presence  in  a  lively  man- 
ner before  our  minds. 

II.  To  preserve  careful  modesty  of  external  de- 
meanor, so  as  not  to  offend  the  purity  of  his 
eye. 

III.  To  get  a  habit,  either  in  the  house  or  walking 

out,  of  spending  part  of  each  day  in  company 
with  our  Guardian  Angel  alone. 

IV.  To  make  an  act  of  loving  thanksgiving  to  him 

morning  and  evening. 
V.  To   recite   nine   Paters,  Aves,  and   Glorias   in 

honor  of  the  nine  choirs. 
VI.  To  say  the  little  office  or  chaplet  of  the  Guardian 

Angel. 

VII.  To  have  near  our  bed,  or  in  our  room,  a  picture 
of  him,  and  to  salute  it  when  we  go  out  or 
come  in. 
VIII.  On  some  fixed  day  in  the  week  to  pay  him  some 

special  tribute  of  devotion. 

IX.  To  enrol  ourselves  in  some  confraternity  in  honor 
of  the  Holy  Angels. 


326  PART  III. 

X.  To  propagate  devotion  to  the  Guardian  Angels 

among  our  friends. 
XI.  To  practice  custody  of  the  eyes  in  honor  of  our 

Guardian  Angel. 

XII.  To  forgive  injuries  promptly  and  to  restrain 
the  sallies  of  anger  in  honor  of  him. 

XIII.  To  have  an  especial  love  of  chastity,  the  virtue 

most  dear  to  the  Holy  Angels. 

XIV.  To  practice  some  particular  devotion  to  the 

the  Queen  of  Angels  in  the  name  of  our 
Guardian  Angel. 
XV.  To  select  some  one  of  our  Guardian  Angel's 

virtues  for  imitation  for  a  definite  time. 
XVI.  To  keep  the  feast  of  the  Guardian  Angels,  and 
also  our  own  birthday,  as  a  feast  of  our  own 
Angel,  who  then  began  his  ministry. 
XVII.  To  give  alms  in  honor  of  the  Guardian  Angel 

of  the  beggar. 

XVIII.  To  salute  the  Guardian  Angels  of  those  whom 
we  meet  in  thestreets,  of  villages,  &c.,  all  which 
is  most  acceptable  to  our  own  Guardian  Angel. 
XIX.  In  entering  a  church  to  unite  our  intention 
with  that  of  our  Guardian  Angel  to  adore  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  and  then  to  honor  the 
Angels  of  the  different  altars,  and  the  other 
Angels  worshipping  there. 

XX.  To  invoke  our  Guardian  Angel  at  the  begin- 
ning of  all  our  separate  works  and  duties. 


Those  who  from  the  circumstances  of  the  times  and 
the  self-will  of  the  world,  or  from  a  strong  interior 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    327 

attrait  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  drawn  to  a  special  devo- 
tion to  the  adorable  "Will  of  God,  may  obtain  astonish- 
ing graces  and  favors  by  showing  special  reverence  and 
particular  love  to  the  third  choir  of  the  first  hierarchy 
the  Blessed  Thrones,  on  whom  the  Will  of  God  rests 
in  its  might,  reposing  with  inexplicable  complacency 
in  the  perfectness  of  their  submission. 


IV. 
ST.  JOSEPH. 

I.  God  blessing  the  world  after  Creation — how  much 
more  was  there  for  Him  to  love  when  Mary  was 
born — yet  she  was  a  weak  damsel  whom  any  one 
might  insult — whom  does  He  choose  to  protect 
her?  St.  Joseph. 

II.  There  was  a  Babe  in  the  world,  and  that  Babe 
was  the  world's  God — any  one  may  slay  Him, 
wound  Him,  trample  on  Him.  God's  treasures 
are  now  rather  on  earth  than  in  Heaven — who 
shall  protect  them?  St.  Joseph. 

III.  There  can  be  no  humility  in  God,  but  this  great 

mystery  was  to  be  in  God  made  Man,  obedient 
to  His  own  creature — who  was  born  to  be  the 
lawful  superior  of  God,  and  to  sanctify  himself 
by  thus  awfully  commanding  ?  St.  Joseph. 

IV.  How  the  Eternal  Father  seems  withdrawn  from 

gaze !  the  elect  are  sons  of  God,  and  so  represent 
Jesus:  the  Spirit  acts  in  us; — St.  Joseph  has 
imparted  to  him  a  shadow,  nay  a  reality,  of  the 
Eternal  Father's  ever-blessed  Fatherhood. 


328  PART  III. 

V.  Brief  sketch  of  his  life — suspicion — grief — charity 

— Bethlehem — Flight  into  Egypt — Nazareth — 
Three  Days'  Loss — rules  Jesus  and  Mary — dies 
between  them. 

VI.  The  love  of  Jesus  and  Mary  meet  in  him :  he  was 

spared  the  Passion  :  his  office  is  daily  represen- 
ted in  mass,  procession,  and  benediction  :  devo- 
tion to  him  is  a  short  road  to  the  Sacred  Hearts 
of  Jesus  and  Mary. 

VII.  His  death. — How  sweet  was  the  happy  solitude 

of  the  House  of  Nazareth — no  secret  bower  in 
the  shades  of  Eden  was  more  sweet  than  that 
sinless  house,  that  heaven  upon  earth — Would 
death  dare  to  come  where  the  Lord  of  life  was 
living  ?  It  durst  not  come  nigh  His  Cross  until 
He  bowed  His  Head  in  sign  that  it  might  come. 
Yes !  death  dared  to  cross  the  threshold  of  the 
House  of  Nazareth.  Joseph  was  now  seventy 
.  years  of  age,  Mary  forty-five  and  Jesus  twenty- 
nine.  He  was  not  ill,  but  his  love  of  God  shook 
him  in  his  old  age,  as  it  did  St.  Philip,  that 
second  St.  Joseph,  after  him.  The  hour  came: 
he  laid  himself  down  to  die ;  and  what  a  death ! 

VIII.  Jesus  is  on  one  side  of  his  bed,  Mary  on  the 
other :  he  holds  the  right  hand  of  Mary  in  his 
left  hand  in  token  of  his  fidelity,  and  in  his 
right  hand  the  left  hand  of  Jesus,  that  with 
His   right   Jesus   may   give    him    benediction. 
Mary  thought  of  Bethlehem,  and  of  the  desert 
as  they  fled  to  Egypt.     She  loved  him  wonder- 
fully :  deep   thoughts  were  in  her  sinless   soul 
as  she  watched   the    coming  on  of  death;  she 
looked    with  love  on   Joseph,   and    then    she 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    329 

looked  over  him  at  Jesus  her  obedient  Son,  and 
she  remembered  how  He  was  the  Lord  of  Life — 
He  had  created  and  sanctified  St.  Joseph's 
beautiful  soul — He  it  was  Who  was  now  bid- 
ding death  come  and  fetch  it.  Oh  mystery  of 
wonder  and  of  love !  Joseph  need  not  die,  if 
Jesus  would  but  will  that  he  should  not.  Mary 
pressed  Joseph's  hand — she  did  not  pray  that 
he  might  live — but  looked  at  Jesus  and  adored 
Him,  adored  her  own  Son,  who  was  her  God  as 
well.  O  death !  thou  hast  travelled  the  world 
over,  yet  never  surely  didst  thou  come  on  such 
a  scene  as  this.  God  in  flesh  and  blood  has 
fast  hold  of  the  hand  of  him  whom  thou  hast 
come  to  seek  and  to  strike.  Wilt  thou  dare? 
Jesus  held  the  right  hand  of  Joseph — He 
whispered  in  his  ear  sweet  words  of  thanks- 
giving for  all  his  care  of  Him.  St.  Joseph 
looked  up  into  the  face  of  Jesus — his  weak 
eyes  went  all  over  it — the  hair,  the  brow,  the 
eyes,  the  moving  lips:  yes,  bold  man,  thou  wilt 
see  that  face  once  more,  Oh  how  bright  and 
beautiful !  And  thou  wilt  be  spared  the  sight 
of  it  as  Mary  will  see  it,  covered  with  blood  and 
wounds,  and  mud  and  filthy  spittle.  Oh  what 
a  strait  to  choose  in  !  To  die  for  us  is  to  go  to 
Jesus;  for  Joseph  it  was  to  leave  Jesus  for 
awhile.  He  looked  up  into  the  face  of  Jesus — 
he  thought  how  he  had  dressed  Him,  washed 
Him,  kissed  Him  as  a  little  one,  protected  Him, 
commanded  Him  in  his  poor  shop,  and  he 
pressed  His  Sacred  Hand  and  smiled  with  love ; 
and  God  Almighty,  the  obedient  Son,  stooped 


330  PART  III. 

down  and  reverently  kissed  -St.  Joseph's  hand. 
St.  Joseph  looked  to  Mary — :then  to  Jesus — 
then  back  to  Mary — then  to  Jesus  again.  He 
looked  up  into  His  face ; — the  smile  passed 
away — there  came  a  look,  most  awful,  most 
heavenly,  most  wonderful — he  saw  the  Godhead 
shine  out  in  the  face  of  Jesus— the  most  pro- 
found and  abashed  humility  passed  into  his  look 
— he  made  an  act  of  fear,  because  he  was  'a 
creature,  and  an  act  of  love- because  he  was  the 
foster  father — both  shook  his  dying  frame. 
He  adored  Jesus  his  Creator  and  his  Judge — 
the  dying  Saint's  guardian  angel  prostrated 
himself  adoringly — St.  Joseph  needed  no  guar- 
dian— God  was  there.  Jesus  raised  His  Right 
Hand  as  Judge  and  blessed  Him ;  thus  He 
judged  His  dying  servant  even  before  His  death 
— that  raised  Right  Hand  of  Jesus  had  blessed 
St.  Joseph — the  dying  creature  whispered  softly, 
Jesus,  Mary,  the  Creator's  ear  was  close  and 
caught  the  words — He  stooped  and  kissed  the 
lips  as  they  pronounced  the  name  of  Mary — in 
that  kiss  of  peace  the  mystery  was  done — the 
soul  of  Joseph  fled  away  to  rest  in  Abraham's 
bosom,  to  wait  till  Jesus  should  have  ended  four 
more  years,  and  be  ready  to  carry  it  with  Him 
through  the  blue  skies  on  Ascension  day  into 
the  everlasting  joys  of  heaven. 
Oh  greatest !  Oh  dearest  of  all  the  saints  of  God ! 

may  we  die  the  death  of  the  just,  and  may  our  last  end 

be  like  to  thine ! 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAIXTS.    331 

V. 
MEDITATIONS  ON  ST.  JOSEPH. 

Gustos  Amabilis,  ora  pro  nobis. 
HIS  SEVEN  DOLORS. 

I.  His  grief  in  thinking  he  must  put  away  our  Blessed 
Lady. 

1.  His  horror  of  impurity,  and  zeal  for  the  love  of 

God. 

2.  His  refraining  from  judging  her. 

3.  His  discreet  and  charitable  deliberation  and  delay. 
II.  His  seeing  the  Infant  Jesus  in  poverty  and  distress. 

1.  Seeing  Him  shiver  with  cold. 

2.  Hearing  Him  cry. 

3.  The  hardness  of  the  manger  and  poverty  of  the 

cave. 

III.  His  seeing  His  Blood  flow  at  the  circumcision. 

1.  His  hatred  of  sin. 

2.  He  adores  the  love  of  Jesus  in  shedding  It. 

3.  He  adores  His  obedience  to  the  law. 

IV.  St.  Simeon's  prophecy. 

1.  His  sympathy  with  our  Blessed  Lady. 

2.  His  sorrowful  meditation  on  St.  Simeon's  words. 

3.  His  continual  remembrance  of  them. 
V.  The  flight  into  Egypt. 

1.  The  fears,  perils,  and  fatigues  of  the  journey. 

2.  His  watching  the  sufferings  of  Jesus. 

3.  His  inability  to  protect  our  Blessed  Lady. 
VI.  His  hearing  that  Archelaus  was  reigning. 

1.  It  dashed  the  joy  of  His  return  from  Egypt. 


332  PART  III. 

2.  His  new  fears  for  Jesus  and  our  Lady. 

3.  His  having  to  live  so  far  from  the  temple. 
VII.  His  loss  of  Jesus  for  three  days. 

1.  The  anxiety  of  the  weary  search. 

2.  His  self-reproach  as  being  the  cause. 

3.  His  misery  at  seeing  our  Blessed  Lady  suffer. 

HIS  SEVEN  JOYS. 

I.  The  angel  telling  him  to  take  Mary  for  his  wife. 

1.  His  delight  at  her  innocence. 

2.  The  honor  he  pays  to  her  virtue. 

3.  Joyous  expectations  of  Jesus. 

II.  The  Ave  Maria  and  Nativity. 

1.  His  hearing  the  Ave  Maria. 

2.  Seeing  the  adoration  of  the  shepherds. 

3.  The  homage  of  the  three  kings. 

III.  The  holy  name  of  Jesus. 

1.  His  having  to  give  it  to  the  Child. 

2.  His  first  pronouncing  of  it. 

3.  His  pondering  with  Mary  over  the  mystery  of  it. 

IV.  St.   Simeon's   words   about   our   Lord :    that   He 

should  be — 

1.  A  light  to  the  Gentiles. 

2.  The  glory  of  Israel. 

3.  The  resurrection  of  many. 

V.  The  falling   down   of  the   idols   of  Egypt   before 

Jesus. 

1.  His  adoration  of  the  power  of  the  Son  of  God. 

2.  His  sympathy  with  Mary's  exceeding  joy. 

3.  His  delight  at  the  glory  thus  accruing  to  God. 

VI.  The  command  of  the  angel  to  return  home. 

1.  His  joy  at   returning  to   the   land  of  the  true 
Church. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.  333 

2.  To  better  accommodations  for  Jesus  and  Mary. 

3.  At  carrying  their  Messias  to  the  Jews. 
VII.  Finding  Jesus  in  the  temple. 

1.  Delight  at  finding  Him. 

2.  Joy  at  Mary's  joy. 

3.  Adoration,  of  the  wisdom  of  Jesus. 


OTHER   CONSIDERATIONS   ABOUT    HIM. 

The  .ove  of  God  the  Father  for  St.  Joseph. 

1.  [u  imparting  to  him  His  paternal  character. 

2.  [n  trusting  His  elect  daughter  Mary  to  him. 

3.  In  predestinating  him  to  these  two  offices. 
The  .ove  of  God  the  Son  for  him. 

1.  As  His  father. 

2.  As  the  careful  and  kind  protector  of  Mary. 

3.  [n  allowing  him  to  kiss,  wash,  dress,  carry  Him, 

&c. 
The  ove  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost  for  him. 

1.  As  a  singular  vessel  of  most  fragrant  continence. 

2.  As  guardian  of  the  Sacred  Humanity. 

3.  As  earthly  husband  of  His  own  Spouse. 
The  love  of  our  Blessed  Lady  for  Him. 

1.  As  chosen  for  her  by  God. 

2.  As  guardian  of  her  purity. 

3.  As  guardian  of  Jesus. 
The  love  of  the  angels  for  him. 

1.  As  so  humbly  commanding  their  Lord. 

2.  As  protecting  their  Queen. 

3.  In  their  embassies  to  him. 

St.  Joseph  model  of  the  Interior  Life  and  Patron  of 

Mental  Prayer. 
1.  Silence, 


334  PART  III. 

2.  Recollection. 

3.  Shunning  publicity. 
St.  Joseph  model  for  priests. 

1.  In  chastity. 

2.  Devotion  to  our  Blessed  Lady. 

3.  In  handling  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
St.  Joseph  model  for  the  dying. 

1.  Quiet  resignation. 

2.  On  the  lap  of  Jesus. 

3.  Mary  at  his  side. 

St.  Joseph  model  for  all  the  faithful. 

1.  In  ministering  to  Jesus. 

2.  In  protecting  Mary's  honor. 

3.  As  a  pilgrim  with  Jesus  and  Mary  in  the  wilder- 

ness. 
What  our  Lady  told  St.  Bridget  of  him. 

1.  He  was  affable,  not  rude. 

2.  Defended  the  absent. 

3.  Took  notice  of  God's  wonderful  works. 
Also, 

1.  He  constantly  prayed  for  the  accomplishment  of 

God's  promises. 

2.  Avoided  publicity. 

3.  Longed  for  death. 
Also, 

1.  He  was  very  contented  in  poverty. 

2.  Very  patient. 

3.  Continued  devotion  to  the  will  of  God. 
Devotion  to  him. 

1.  Late  gift  to  the  Church. 

2.  Acceptableness  of  it  to  Jesus  and  Mary. 

3.  Specially  extolled  by  St.  Teresa. 

Besides  these  meditations,  many  more  may  be  made  of 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.  335 

the  events  of  St.  Joseph's  life,  especially  the  eighteen 
years  at  Nazareth,  when  he  saw  Joseph  working,  eating, 
sleeping,  praying,  &c. ;  also  of  the  sojourn  in  Egypt,  the 
two  journeys,  his  accompanying  our  Blessed  Lady  at 
the  Visitation,  and  many  more. 


VI. 
ST.  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST. 

I.  State  of  the  Jews. 

1.  Voluptuousness  of  higher  orders. 

2.  Spirit  of  disputation  and  doubt  amid  the  learned. 

3.  Unsettlement  among  the  people. 
II.  Appearance  of  St.  John. 

1.  His  wild  appearance.  » 

2.  His  ignorance  of  human  learning. 

3.  His  preaching  unfashionable  penance. 

4.  His  rude  rebuking  of  the  noble. 

5.  His  making  no  distinction  between  high  and  low, 

simple  and  learned. 

6.  His  marvellous  power  and  attractiveness. 

III.  The  causes  of  his  power. 

1.  His  truckling  to  no  human  respects. 

2.  His  preaching  to  the  heart. 

3.  His  supernatural  austerities. 

4.  His  interior  union  with  God. 

IV.  Similarity  between  England  now,  and  Judea  then. 

St.  John  a  model  for  us. 

1.  In  high  principles. 

2.  In  cultivating  purity  of  heart. 


336  PART  in. 

3.  In  supernatural  faith  and  perfection,  realizing  the 

invisible  world. 

4.  In  leading  lives  of  prayer  and  union  with  God. 

The  day  of  controversy  is  wellnigh  past.  The  calm- 
ness of  Catholics  in  the  late  troubles  excites  wonder — 
now  for  power  with  God,  and  the  day  is  ours  ;  the  time 
will  be  when  men  will  talk  of  Protestantism  as  they  do 
of  the  old  heresies,  as  a  curse  which  once  was  and  is 
now  no  more ! 


VII. 

THE  THREE  KINGS;    OR,  ALL  GRACES 
COME  OF  FAITH. 

If  the  Bible  discloses  melancholy  possibilities  of  the 
sinfulness  of  man,  k  also  discloses  magnificences,  which 
perhaps  the  kingdom  of  angels  can  hardly  surpass — e.g. 
the  Three  Kings. 

I.  The  Three  Kings.     What  immense  saints  they  were 
— shown 

1 .  From  the  singularity  of  their  election. 

2.  From  the  special  graces  they  received. 

3.  From  the  mystery  for  which  they  were  used — God 

opening  His  Church  to  the  Gentiles. 

4.  From  the  virtues  they  practised. 

5.  From  the  huge  devotion  of  the  Church  to  them. 
II.  Their  characteristics. 

1.  They  are  instances  of  men  who  reveal  their  whole 
selves  in  one  action :  such  men  are  mostly  very 
divine  characters;  their  simplicity  is  a  great 
power. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    337 

2.  Moreover  they  are  saints  whose  characters  are  so 

mast3red  by  their  one  grace  as  to  lose  almost 
their  individuality — yet  their  offerings  bespeak 
variety  of  character. 

3.  They  belong  to   that  little   class  of  God's  own 

private  saints,  the  unknown  vastness  cf  whose 
sanctity  He  irradiates  by  only  one  or  two  gleams, 
such  as  St.  Joseph,  the  Baptist,  some  of  the 
apostles,  and  SS.  Joachim  and  Anne.  These 
are  the  Mary-like  saints;  for  this  is  also  her 
characteristic. 

4.  Their   virtues   were — (1)   alacrity,    (2)  courage, 

especially  against  human  respect,  (3)  generosity, 
(4)  entireness  of  heart  with  God,  (5)  singular 
docility,  (6)  exceeding  great  joy,  as  the  un- 
exaggerating  Bible  calls  it. 

5.  But  all  these  six  graces  came  out  of  one  as  out 

of  a  fountain,  namely,  out  of  faith. 
III.  Lessons  to  learn. 

1.  Faith  is  God's  greatest  gift  on  earth,  and  is  neces- 

sary for  charity. 

2.  Of  all  graces  it  is  the  one  most  capable  of  increase. 

3.  It  is  the  most  prolific  of  all  graces :  and  gives  us 

most  momentum. 

4.  It  is  the  source  of  all  spiritual  sweetness,  and  of 

all  joy  and  consolation  in  religion. 

5.  How  we  can  best  increase  it. 

(1.)  By  cherishing  the  thought  of  God,  and  culti- 
vating His  fear. 
(2)  By  a  filial  and  reverential  devotion  to  the 

Church. 

The  hidden  magnificence  of  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem 
compared  with  the  hidden  magnificence  of  the  Church. 
Vol.  I.  Y 


338  PART  in. 

As  we  lose  ourselves,  our  own  likings  and  dislikings, 
our  own  judgments  and  criticisms  and  all  the  follies  of 
our  littleness,  in  the  thought  and  presence  of  God,  so 
must  we  lose  them  also  in  the  thought  and  presence 
of  His  Church.  The  grand  lesson  which  He  sent  the 
Three  Kings  to  teach  the  Gentiles  was  devotion  to  the 
Church ! 


VIII. 
ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY .* 

What  a  strange  providence  it  is,  my  dear  Brethren 
in  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  in  this  poor  faithless  land  of 
ours,  this  poor  uncatholic  England,  should  be  gathered 
together  quietly  this  day  beneath  the  shadow  of  our 
own  blessed  and  glorious  martyr  St.  Thomas  of  Canter- 
bury, while  the  Holy  City  of  Catholics,  the  home  of 
our  affections,  the  threshold  of  the  apostles,  the  pilgrim- 
age place  of  Christendom,  is  lying  waste  and  desolate 
and  in  darkness!  How  strange,  passing  strange,  it 
seems  that  we  in  this  fallen  land  should  be  met 
together  to-day  to  do  honor  to  a  name  which  has 
been  a  by-word  of  scorn  and  a  proverb  of  reproach  in 
the  mouths  of  generations  of  our  deluded  countrymen, 
while  the  Holy  City  is  lying  waste,  because  the  visible 
Presence  of  God  passed  from  it,  when  His  dear  and 
blessed  Vicar  fled  a  fugitive  along  those  Pontine 
Marches  through  which  St.  Paul  journeyed  in  his 
bonds  to  preach  Christ  Crucified  in  the  streets  of 

•Preached  in  the  Church  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury  at 
Fulham,  Dec.  29,  1848. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.  339 

beautiful  Rome!  How  much  is  there  in  this  con- 
sideration which  leads  us,  almost  in  spite  of  ourselves, 
to  meditate  with  trembling  awe  upon  the  fortunes  of 
God's  Church  and  her  most  holy  faith,  and  to  watch 
with  fearful  interest  the  ebb  and  flow  of  that  empire 
of  our  faith,  which,  while  it  loses  ground  or  seems  to 
lose  it  in  one  place,  gains  it  in  another,  until  its  wearied 
and  baffled  foes  throw  down  their  arms,  cease  their 
calculations,  and  become  stupefied  at  these  repeated 
signs  of  its  hopeless  and  undecayed  vitality.  But, 
my  dear  Brethren,  because  things  look  dark  abroad, 
because  there  seems  to  have  come  down  this  night 
upon  the  Church,  a  night  of  storm  and  of  eclipse,  the 
shadow  of  God's  wrath  and  judgment  on  the  sons  of 
men,  even  in  the  most  Holy  Place,  even  where  the 
bodies  of  countless  saints  and  nameless  martyrs  lie, 
ought  we  therefore  to  lose  heart  or  slacken  our  endeav- 
ors in  the  cause  of  God's  Church,  in  other  lands  or  in 
our  own?  God  forbid!  God  forbid  that  we  should 
have  so  little  faith  in  God,  or  that  we  should  so  distrust 
the  power  and  heavenly  virtue  of  our  blessed  faith ! 
No !  we  lose  not  heart,  our  purposes  are  not  unnerved, 
our  spirits  do  not  faint  or  flag,  because  we  know 
Whose  faith  it  is,  and  Whom  we  have  on  board  while 
we  are  in  Peter's  bark :  and  though  that  bark  be  now 
storm-tossed  and  in  apparent  peril,  yet  when  the  hour 
comes,  when  our  faith  has  been  sufficiently  tried  and 
our  sins  sufficiently  chastised,  He  will  rise  from  out 
His  seeming  slumber,  and  with  one  word  will  bid  the 
winds  and  waves  be  still. 

But  while  we  regard  with  awe,  not  unintermingled 
with  hope,  and  without  one  shadow  of  distrust,  the 
scenes  that  are  enacting  in  the  Holy  Place,  how 


340  PAST  III. 

beautiful,  how  cheering,  how  elating  is  the  prospect 
around  us  in  this  our  own  dear  native  land !  If  the 
faith  seems  faint  and  feeble  and  overcast,  it  is  after  all 
but  seemingly  so  ;  if  it  appear  to  be  losing  ground,  and 
to  be  ebbing  from  foreign  shores,  how  fast  and  freely 
the  tide  is  flowing  in  upon  our  own,  and  flowing  where 
it  ought  to  flow,  not  so  much  upon  the  palace  steps  of 
the  noble  and  the  rich,  upon  the  change  of  the  busy 
trafficker  or  the  hall  of  the  self-wise  scholar,  as  upon 
the  dense  untended  multitude  of  Christ's  predestined 
poor,  upon  the  friendless,  the  fallen,  the  ignorant, 
the  grief-smitten  !  How  fast  is  the  faith  encroaching ! 
How  is  it  sapping  the  very  citadels  of  prejudice  and 
bigotry :  how  are  the  hearts  of  sinners  coming  into 
the  fold  by  scores  and  hundreds,  like  the  miraculous 
draught  of  old  into  Peter's  net,  which  at  his  Master's 
word  he  cast  forth  into  the  dark  unpromising  deep! 
Surely  we  cannot  but  feel  that  God  has  in  these  days 
granted  to  every  one  of  us,  in  our  own  appointed  place 
and  fitting  way,  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex,  a 
kind  of  universal  commission,  whereby  every  English 
Catholic  is  constituted,  in  his  and  her  place  and  sphere, 
a  sort  of  missionary  apostolic  to  spread  the  faith  ;  and 
the  question,  the  practical  question,  for  all  of  us  to 
consider  is  the  manner  in  which  we  are  to  do  our  work. 
It  is  impossible  to  look  forth  on  the  face  of  the  land, 
and  not  to  see  that  the  fields  are  white  for  the  harvest. 
It  is  impossible  to  love  Almighty  God,  and  not  pour 
out  our  souls  in  secret  prayer  to  the  great  Master  of 
the  harvest,  that  He  will  send  forth  laborers  there- 
unto, men  of  apostolic  zeal  and  apostolic  boldness  and 
apostolic  mortification,  which  alone  is  the  source  of 
prayer  and  priestly  charity.  It  is  impossible  to  avoid 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    341 

seeing  that  wheresoever  the  adorable  Sacrifice  and  the 
rightful  priest  are  to  be  found  in  this  land  of  ours, 
there  is  the  Gospel  prophecy  fulfilled,  that  where  the 
body  is  the  eagles  will  be  gathered  together. 

Yes !  the  practical  question  for  all  of  us  is  how  we 
are  to  do  our  work;  and  surely  this  feast  should  be 
suggestive  to  every  one  of  us  in  what  way  we  are  to 
fight  the  fight : — we  are  to  fight  it  as  St.  Thoin  s  did 
of  old.  Adverse  as  the  times  may  seem  in  outward 
appearance,  there  never  was  an  age  of  the  Church 
when  circumstances,  both  within  and  without,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  more  loudly  called  upon  us  to  take 
the  blessed  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury  for  our  pattern, 
our  model,  nay  our  liviug,  powerful,  and  helpful  guide, 
and  fight  the  good  fight  as  he  fought  it  in  bygone  times, 
even  to  the  shedding  of  his  blood,  or  to  what  men  find 
harder  to  give  than  blood,  the  shedding  of  their  good 
name  by  pouring  it  out  to  waste  upon  the  earth.  Let 
me  then  ask  you  this  morning  to  meditate  awhile 
upon  the  life  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury,  to  put  him 
before  yourselves  as  the  great  exemplar  of  those  grand 
characteristics  of  which  he  is  the  special  Saint,  the 
special  Apostle.  He  is  the  Apostle  of  high  principle, 
the  Saint  whose  every  word  and  work  was  a  con- 
demnation of  cowardice,  of  time-serving,  of  timidity, 
of  pusillanimity,  of  all  unworthy  concession,  of  all 
trembling  in  the  face  of  power,  of  all  bartering  of 
principle  for  peace  or  gain,  of  all  circuitous  roads  to  a 
rightful  and  a  godly  end ;  in  a  word,  of  every  profane 
weakness  that  ever  afflicted  the  Church  from  within 
or  without,  from  her  children  or  her  foes,  he  was  the 
unflinching  enemy  and  the  pertinacious  opponent  from 
first  to  last.  It  is  on  this  account  that  I  call  upon 


342  PART  in. 

you  to  study  his  life,  and  ponder  on  every  word,  to 
meditate  on  every  action  of  this  most  dear  and  blessed 
martyr,  whom  England  gave  to  the  Church  of  God, 
and  to  put  him  before  us,  each  of  course  discreetly,  in 
his  own  appointed  sphere,  and  under  the  obedience  of 
his  spiritual  guide,  as  our  model  and  our  patron  in  the 
terrible  scandal-breeding  strife  which  seems  too  pro- 
bably at  hand.  If  ever  there  was  a  time  or  place 
when  and  where  high,  obstinate,  clear-sighted,  and 
unflinching  principle  was  the  sheet-anchor  of  the 
Church,  that  time  is  now,  and  that  place  the  land  in 
which  it  is  our  lot  to  live  and  work. 

Let  us  then  look  at  St.  Thomas  in  three  different 
states  in  which  his  romantic  life,  so  full  of  wisest 
teaching  in  its  minutest  details,  presents  him  to  us — 
St.  Thomas  in  the  court,  St.  Thomas  in  strife,  and  St. 
Thomas  in  exile. 

First  of  all,  let  us  look  at  St.  Thomas  in  the  court; 
let  us  look  at  him  after  he  became  archbishop,  but,  for 
his  Church's  sake,  still  mingled  with  the  king  and  the 
rude  barons  and  fawning  courtiers  round  him.  -  What 
above  all  things  strikes  us  in  the  conduct  of  this 
magnificence-loving  man,  is  the  evidence  of  calm 
austerity  and  of  repulsive  penance  which,  amid  all  the 
glory  and  the  brilliance  that  distinguished  the  court  of 
Henry,  broke  from  time  to  time  through  that  conceal- 
ment with  which  Catholic  sanctity  is  wont  to  shroud 
itself.  It  was  said  of  him,  even  during  his  lifetime, 
that  he  degraded  and  sullied  the  splendor  that  was 
round  him  by  the  dreadful  and  unsightly  austerities 
he  practised.  And  is  not  St.  Thomas  an  example  to 
us  even  in  this  very  respect,  if  at  least  we  desire  in 
our  heart  of  hearts  to  see  our  beloved  country  brought 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    343 

back  again  to  God,  brought  as  a  modest  yet  rejoicing 
wanderer  into  the  one  only  fold  of  the  One  True 
Shepherd?  Oh!  it  is  not  a  work  that  is  nigh  at 
hand,  at  least  the  accomplishment  thereof;  it  is  not 
a  work  that  is  light  and  easy,  neither  is  it  a  light  or 
a  little  thing  to  ask  of  God.  But  if  we  do  yearn  after 
this  great  ennobling  end,  then  must  we  imitate  St. 
Thomas  in  the  very  matter  now  before  us.  Do  you 
believe  that  we  shall  ever  convert  England,  if  we  are 
simply  common  Catholics,  common,  good,  practical 
Catholics,  \\ith  no  aim  beyond  a  state  of  grace  or  an 
absence  of  permitted  venial  sin,  moving  in  the  routine 
of  the  far-off  feasts  and  distant  indulgences  as  though 
it  was  a  grove  out  of  which  our  spiritual  life  would 
run  to  nought  and  perish  ?  Do  you  in  good  faith 
believe  that  this  is  the  material  God  will  use  to  upraise 
a  fallen  land  ?  Is  there  here  a  power  of  expiation  to 
thrust  aside  those  tremendous  arrears  of  wrath  and 
judgment  which  have  accumulated  against  the  land 
for  three  hundred  years  of  augmenting  impurity,  pro- 
faneness,  and  unbelief?  Is  this  a  furnace  of  love 
strong  enough  to  burn  away  all  that  needs  consuming 
among  us?  Oh  how  weak  and  wild  would  it  be  to 
suppose  that  we  can  do  great  things,  that  we  have  the 
faith  which  can  remove  mountains,  and  the  love  which 
can  cast  out  fear,  and  the  austerity  which  can  exorcise 
the  spirits  of  evil*  if  we  aim  not  at  far  higher  things 
than  these.  No,  my  Brethren,  it  must  be  something 
more  than  the  tameness  of  a  common  virtue,  something 
higher  than  the  level  of  ordinary  attainments,  which 
will  do  so  great  a  work  for  God.  We  must  aim  at 
perfection  ;  we  must  strive  after  the  arduous  heights 
of  Christian  holiness ;  we  must  endeavor  to  imitate 


344  PART  TIT. 

the  saints  of  God ;  we  must  put  before  ourselves  as 
possible,  aye,  and  as  hopeful  aims,  their  devoted  and 
heroic  deeds.  We  must  break  down  all  false  and 
puny  standards  of  virtue  which  would  stunt  our 
spiritual  growth,  and  abjuring  whatever  may  seem  to 
have  caught  by  contagion  the  dominant  evil  spirit 
which  surrounds  us  in  this  heretic  land,  we  must 
throw  ourselves  heart  and  soul  into  the  models  which 
come  to  us  from  times  which  had  not  lost  the  faith, 
or  from  lauds  where  amid  many  hindrances  it  still 
reigns  supreme.  Depend  upon  it  there  is  a  host  of 
sin,  a  host  of  God's  wrath  in  arrear,  through  which 
we  must  press  our  way  before  we  can  come  to  our 
glorious  end ;  and  it  is  not  by  coldness,  by  lukewarm- 
ness,  by  indifference,  or  even  by  mediocre  virtue  that 
we  shall  accomplish  our  purpose,  still  less  by  a  paltry, 
bargaining  spirit,  that  would  go  to  market  as  it  were 
with  God,  and  grant  him  little  more  than  the  precepts 
of  the  Church  lay  upon  the  conduct  and  the  conscience. 
Oh  no !  it  must  be  a  nobler  inclination,  a  more  generous 
spirit,  a  spirit  that  must  throw  itself  fervently  and 
confidingly  into  the  arms  of  God  Himself,  and  must 
lead  us  to  dedicate  ourselves  body  and  soul  and  spirit 
to  the  trampling  the  world  under  our  feet  as  the 
canonized  saints  of  God  have  done,  not  only  in  times 
of  yore,  but  up  to  the  threshold  of  these  times  of  ours. 
We  i.uist  be  more,  ten  thousand  times  more,  than  com- 
mon easy-going  practical  Catholics,  if  we  would  convert 
for  God  this  deluded  and  benighted  land. 

This  surely  is  the  very  first  thing  we  must  look  to, 
each  one  of  us  to  his  own  practice,  each  one  of  us  to 
his  own  progress  in  holiness,  and  to  his  own  advance- 
ment along  the  road  of  Christian  perfection.  And 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.     345 

why  is  this?  Why  is  it  that  I  put  the  austerity  of 
St.  Thomas,  not  ouly  among  the  examples  which  that 
blessed  Saint  sets  us,  but  the  very  first  and  foremost  of 
them  all?  For  these  reasons  amongst  others :  because 
austerity  and  perfection  give  us  power  with  God.  Oh 
how  useless  it  is  for  man  or  woman  to  go  forth  into  the 
world,  into  the  social  or  domestic  circle,  and  hope  to 
influence  their  fellow-men  for  good,  if  they  have  not 
influence  first  of  all  in  the  great  court  and  before  the 
great  throne  which  are  on  high,  if  they  are  not  known 
there  as  persons  of  constant  prayer,  of  self-denying  lives, 
of  generous  sacrifice  for  the  Church  and  faith  of  God  ; 
and  how  weak,  how  powerless,  how  utterly  imbecile  will 
all  their  most  arduous  efforts  prove  to  be.  Yes!  my 
dear  Brethren,  we  may  toil  till  health  of  body  gives  way 
beneath  the  burden  ;  but  if  we  have  not  influence  with 
God,  if  we  are  not  habitually  with  Him  in  the  im- 
plorings  and  wrestlings  of  prayer,  in  meditation  and  in 
secret  penance,  how  powerless,  how  unpre vailing  will 
all  our  labors  be !  Our  hands  will  be  unnerved,  our 
arms  will  drop  from  them,  when  the  hour  of  victory 
seems  nighest,  because  we  seek  to  have  commanding 
influence  over  men,  before  self-humiliation  has  earned 
for  us  influence  with  God, 

Further,  we  must  strive  after  these  heights  of 
Christian  perfection,  not  only  because  austerity  has 
power  with  God,  but  because  it  seems  on  that  very 
account  to  give  a  mysterious  and  disproportionate 
power  to  all  our  actions,  even  those  which  are  trivial 
themselves.  Common  words  and  common  things, 
when  they  come  from  one  whose  soul  is  in  union  with 
God, — oh !  they  are  like  miracles,  compared  with  the 
selfsame  words  and  the  selfsame  deeds,  when  they  come 


346  PART  III. 

from  one  who  is  living  an  ordinary  life.  There  seems 
to  be  a  power  in  them  which  emanates  from  on  high, 
an  abiding  presence  and  unction  of  the  Blessed  Spirit 
in  them.  The  missionary  of  hidden  austerity  may 
look  outwardly  like  any  other  man ;  he  may  not 
perhaps  have  human  talent,  human  eloquence,  or 
human  influence ;  and  yet  there  is  something  in  him, 
something  that  goes  from  him,  which  bows  the  hearts 
of  men,  as  the  wind  bows  the  reeds  when  it  blows, 
and  they  feel  the  sovereign  influence,  acknowledge  its 
sovereignty,  and  bend  before  the  words  and  deeds 
which  are,  as  it  were,  the  vessels  wherein  it  is 
contained. 

There  is  still  another  truth  to  be  remarked ;  austerity, 
like  other  Christian  things,  is  blamed  even  by  those 
who  are  themselves  at  the  moment  beneath  its  in- 
fluence. While  the  men  of  St.  Thomas's  day  found 
fault  with  his  want  of  discretion,  and  blamed  him 
because  he  allowed  his  rude,  uncouth,  grotesque 
austerities  to  appear  amid  the  splendors  of  Henry's 
court ;  yet  all  the  while  they  were  allured  and  attracted 
by  it.  There  is  a  marvellous  power  in  a  holy  life; 
there  is  a  marvellous  influence  in  austerity,  a  super- 
natural power  to  attract  and  allure  the  most  alien  things 
towards  itself.  Look  at  the  great  preacher  of  penance 
in  the  days  of  old  ;  look  at  that  unearthly  apparition, 
that  came  up  from  the  wilderness  after  years  of  in- 
human solitude,  and  the  companionship  of  wild  beasts, 
and  stood  before  the  eyes  of  men  upon  the  banks  of 
Jordan.  He  appeared,  in  the  aspect  of  his  outward 
seeming,  to  have  been  made  only  to  offend,  to  disgust, 
and  to  repel.  Yet  to  the  Baptist's  preaching  there 
came,  wiled  as  though  by  an  influence  they  could  neither 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.  347 

resist  nor  divine,  the  pleasure- loving  and  sensual  officers 
of  the  legions  from  the  gay  and  sinful  city ;  while  the 
cold  and  sceptic  scholars,  with  their  sparkling  wit, 
sarcastic  sophistry,  and  unearnest  investigation,  were 
attracted  in  spite  of  themselves  by  this  sight  of  St. 
John  coming  up  from  the  wilderness  to  Jordan's  bank, 
and  their  eyes  were  riveted  upon  him  with  inquiring 
awe,  although  he  had  no  human  influence,  no  show  of 
intellect,  nought  but  the  preaching  of  the  most  abject 
penance  and  undignified  humiliation.  If  there  was  at 
that  time  one  object  on  which  their  eyes  were  more 
anxiously  and  intensely  fixed  than  another,  it  was 
upon  this  rude  forerunner  of  our  Lord,  and  they  stopped 
to  question  him,  who  he  was,  and  what  the  proofs  of 
his  mission  were.  So  will  it  always  be :  men  will 
talk  to  you,  criticise  you,  condemn  you,  seem  to  destroy 
your  influence  by  affixing  the  slur  of  indiscretion  to 
your  name;  but  after  all,  things  work  round,  because 
there  is  in  an  austere  life,  in  one  whose  soul  is  in  union 
with  God,  a  secret  power  of  attraction  which  no  other 
power  on  earth  can  give,  and  which  imparts  to  him 
•who  lives  that  life  an  empire  over  the  consciences  of 
men  beyond  the  reach  of  all  human  calculation. 

Let  this  then,  Brethren,  be  the  first  lesson  that  we 
learn  from  St.  Thomas — the  necessity  of  girding  our- 
selves up  to  a  more  holy  life,  to  a  more  severe  penance, 
and  to  a  closer  union  with  God. 

Let  us  now  turn  from  St.  Thomas  in  the  court,  with 
his  uncouth  austerities,  to  St.  Thomas  in  his  strife.  If 
we  look  at  the  accounts  given  of  him  even  by  his  own 
contemporaries,  how  he  was  misunderstood,  how  he  was 
misjudged,  how  he  was  described  as  of  a  foreign  race 
whose  lauguage  worldly  men  could  not  understand! 


318  PART  III. 

No,  it  requires  some  hundreds  of  years  to  intervene 
before  we  are  far  enough  off  from  the  glory  of  St. 
Thomas  to  cast  our  eyes  up  to  the  altitude  that  was  in 
his  noble  and  sacred  character.  And  what  was  it,  my 
Brethren,  what  was  it  in  the  manner  of  his  strife, 
whether  with  the  crowned  king  upon  the  throne,  or  the 
rude  barons,  or  even,  which  was  harder  still,  with  his 
courtly  brother  bishops,  what  was  it  that  so  offended 
men  ?  It  was  the  seeming  hypocrisy,  it  was  the  appar- 
ent double-facedness  of  all  that  he  did,  it  was  that 
holy  double  spirit  which  the  Church  has  in  her,  and 
wh  ch  all  the  saints  of  God  possessed ;  that  he  was 
humble,  with  what  the  world  called  an  affectedly  servile 
humility,  to  the  poor  and  lonely  and  fallen  and  little 
ones  of  Jesus ;  but  in  the  face  of  the  rude  king,  and  in 
the  face  of  human  power  and  intellect,  he  seemed  proud 
and  arrogant  and  presumptuous,  drawing  himself  up 
within  himself,  and  not  stooging  to  make  the  slightest 
concession.  And  here  it  is  that  the  lesson  is  for  us. 
We  too  must  be  humble — ten  thousand  times  more 
humble  now  than  St.  Thomas  was  then ;  our  humility 
must  be  manly,  at  the  same  time  that  it  is  meek,  to  the 
the  little  ones  of  Jesus ;  but  in  the  face  of  power,  in  the 
face  of  pride,  in  the  face  of  unbelieving  science,  in  the 
face  of  distasteful  and  conspiring  politics,  we  must  be 
what  St.  Thomas  was,  we  must  be  apparently  proud, 
presumptuous,  and  arrogant. 

It  may  seem  that  there  is  no  practical  lesson  for  us 
in  this  particular  matter ;  but  indeed,  if  we  look  closer 
into  it,  there  is  a  lesson  for  us  every  way.  For  instance, 
how  many  of  us,  in  the  private,  social,  and  domestic 
circle,  long  with  our  heart's  best  affection  for  conversion 
to  the  faith  of  God  of  those  who  are  near  and  dear  to 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    349 

us  both  by  blood  and  by  love.  Yes,  Brethren,  how 
many  of  us  are  there  who  must  entertain  such  a  feeling 
even  in  our  own  hearts,  and  what  a  temptation  is  there 
here  to  play  false  to  the  faith  of  God — what  a  tempta- 
tion is  there  here  to  do  the  very  opposite  of  what  St. 
Thomas  did  of  old.  Beware,  in  your  conversation  with 
others,  how  you  represent  the  Church  of  God  to  those 
whom  you  desire  to  allure  within  her  pale ;  beware  of 
representing  her  for  one  moment  as  though  she  were 
different  from  what  she  was  in  days  of  old ;  beware 
of  representing  her  as  abating  one  jot  or  tittle  of  the 
greatest  of  those  pretensions  which  seemed  most  arro- 
gant and  most  preposterous  even  in  the  Middle  Ages ; 
beware  of  representing  her  as  changed  one  atom  in  this 
her  temper  and  her  spirit ;  no,  we  must  adhere  strictly 
and  zealously  to  high  principle,  disregarding  everything 
that  present  or  temporary  advantage  may  appear  to 
put  within  our  reach.  Truth,  remember — and  this  is 
one  great  distinction  between  Catholics  and  heretics — 
truth  is  not  ours,  but  God's.  Truth  is  not  ours  to  bate 
and  pare  down.  Truth  is  God's ;  it  has  God's  majesty 
inherent  within  it,  and  it  will  convert  the  souls  of  men, 
even  when  it  seems  rudest  and  most  repelling ;  and  it 
will  do  so  for  this  one  reason — because  it  is  God's  truth, 
and  because  we  through  the  grace  of  God  have  bold- 
ness and  faith  to  put  our  trust  in  it.  And  again,  be- 
ware of  another  evil,  that  of  trying  to  throw  aside  or 
to  pare  down  what  seems  most  faithful  and  warm  in 
the  devotions  of  foreign  lands ;  do  not  tell  that  cruel 
falsehood,  do  not  tell  it  to  those  whom  you  love,  and 
are  longing  and  yearning  to  have  within  the  Church,  do 
not  tell  them  that  the  faith  is  other  here  than  what  it 
is  elsewhere ;  do  not  throw  aside  devotion  and  sweet- 


350  •  PART  in: 

ness,  and  worship  and  affection,  as  though  they  were 
not  fit  for  us,  as  though  God's  Church  were  not  one ; 
for  this  is  nothing  less  in  reality  than  to  deny  the 
unity  of  God's  Church.  Tell  them  not  this.  Take  not 
the  bread  from  between  their  teeth,  to  bring  them  within 
the  pale  of  God's  Church,  to  find  that  they  themselves 
have  been  deceived,  and  that  you,  while  you  wished  to 
attract  and  allure,  have  only  so  much  the  more  effec- 
tually repelled  them,  and  have  taken  from  them  that 
which,  in  a  moment  of  faith  and  love,  they  would  have 
most  generously  embraced.  This  is,  indeed,  doing  a 
cruel  work,  and  it  is  in  this  very  respect  that  St.  Thomas 
is  to  us  so  bright  an  example.  Believe  me,  dear 
Brethren,  if  there  be  a  land — if  there  be  a  people — in 
which  high  principle  is  acceptable  from  its  own  in- 
trinsic value,  or  alluring  from  the  national  character  of 
those  around  us,  it  is  this  dear  land  of  ours.  Let  us 
have  faith,  firm,  vigorous,  unfaltering  faith;  and,  trust 
me,  there  is  in  high  principle  something  which  humbles 
those  who  hold  it.  They  are  never  humble  who  have 
not  high  principle.  They  may  be  courtly,  they  may 
be  pusillanimous,  but  humble  they  cannot  be;  for 
there  is  in  high  principles,  and  high  principles  alone, 
that  which  humbles  those  who  hold  them,  that  which 
wins  those  to  whom  those  high  principles  are  put 
forward ;  and  above  all  there  is  in  these  high  principles, 
and  in  none  other,  the  plenitude  of  that  heavenly  bless- 
ing which  Jesus  has  lodged  in  the  bosom  of  His  people. 

Let  this  then  be  the  second  lesson  that  we  learn 
from  the  life  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury. 

And  now  let  us  turn  to  one  more  scene  in  his  life ; 
let  us  turn  to  the  blessed  martyr  in  his  exile;  let  us 
turn  to  his  bedabbling  the  floor  of  his  cell  at  the 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS,   351 

monastery  of  Pontigny  with  his  own  blood,  from  the 
strife  of  his  own  chastisement ;  let  us  turn  to  him  in 
his  Cistercian  Abbey,  and  let  us  imitate  him  in  his 
exile.  Yes,  Brethren,  and  let  us  remember  that  we 
are  exiles  here  in  the  holy  faith  ;  that  we  are  pilgrims, 
exiles  and  strangers  in  this  very  land  of  ours ;  and  we 
have  a  lesson  to  learn — a  lesson  of  cheerfulness  and 
of  hard-working  diligence,  to  learn  from  St.  Thomas  in 
his  exile.  We  have  to  learn  and  to  lay  to  heart  what 
we  know  already : — that  weakness  is  the  strength  of 
Christians.  Look  at  the  Church  of  God  at  this 
moment.  Look  how  dark,  how  dismal  in  many  ways 
the  prospect  seems ;  how  much  evil  there  seems  to  be 
at  work,  how  much  conspiring  to  overthrow  her :  and 
then  again,  look  at  home,  and  see  what  arduous  toil  is 
there,  and  what  disadvantages  must  daily  be  encoun- 
tered. Yes,  we  are  weak,  but  not  so  weak  as  some 
may  think  we  are.  They  see  but  the  outward  seeming 
and  hear  but  the  outward  voice,  and  they  think  us 
weaker  than  we  are :  but  our  weakness  is  our  strength ; 
and  the  weakness  which  is  strength  is  humility  and 
love ;  love,  suffering  love,  is  the  Christian's  only  victory; 
Brethren,  be  not  cast  down  by  all  that  you  see  and 
hear  around  you.  Be  not  troubled  by  the  rumors 
that  come  floating  across  the  sea  to  us,  day  after  day ; 
be  not  troubled,  or  cast  down,  or  have  your  faith 
fluttered  within  you.  No,  but  remember  that  there 
was  a  time  when  Jesus  was  scorned  by  His  enemies, 
when  He  seemed  weakest,  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane, 
when  the  pale  Easter  moon  was  shining  down  upon  the 
olive-trees,  and  a  band  of  traitors  was  round  about  Him. 
See  how  spent  He  is  with  His  bloody  sweat;  see  how 
His  three  hours  of  agony  seem  to  have  exhausted  the 


352  PART  III. 

very  strength  of  His  Divine  Nature ;  and  there  pale, 
pale  exceedingly,  with  these  enemies  around  Him,  He 
stands  as  it  were  betrayed,  detected,  and  surprised. 
His  disciples  have  fled  from  Him,  and  it  seems  as 
though  He  did  but  remain  there  that  they  might  lay  their 
rude  hands  upon  their  God,  and  the  victory  of  sin  and 
evil  is  complete;  and  one  gentle  word  from  the  lips 
of  Jesus — one  sound  of  those  sweet  accents,  mild,  and 
gentle,  and  passionate,  and  overpowering,  caused  the 
rude  Roman,  and  the  ruder  Jews,  to  fall  backwards  in 
wonder  and  amazement.  And  wherefore  was  this, 
dear  Brethren,  but  to  teach  us  that  in  our  weakness 
is  our  strength,  and  that  meekness,  gentleness,  and  love 
are  mightier  weapons  than  all  else  that  the  world  can 
know  beside? 

But  you  may  ask  me  what  suffering,  what  trials, 
what  meekness  we  shall  be  called  upon  to  practise  or 
endure  in  our  warfare  in  the  private  or  domestic  circle? 
We  shall  have  to  meet  with  unkindness  and  cold  looks 
where  we  ought  to  find  bright  and  warm  ones ;  we 
shall  have  to  come  in  contact  with  cold  and  freezing 
hearts  that  ought  to  be  beating  with  the  pure  fervor 
of  affection ;  we  shall  have  to  be  exiled  from  the  love 
of  those  who  are  bound  most  of  all  to  love  us.  We 
shall  be  misunderstood  if  we  act  on  high  principles, 
and  scandals  must  come ;  remember  this  is  the  law  of 
God's  Church ;  it  is  the  law  which  distinguished  the 
life  of  St.  Thomas,  and  not  his  life  alone,  but  the  whole 
history  of  the  Church,  from  the  day  when  St.  Ambrose 
humbled  Theodosius  at  his  feet,  from  the  day  when  the 
blessed  Gregory  the  Seventh  humbled  his  enemies; 
and  as  in  St.  Thomas's  day,  and  even  now,  they  who 
act  from  high  principle,  must  not  perhaps  give  scandal, 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    353 

but  be  prepared  to  find  that  others  will  take  scandal 
from  them :  but  this  must  not  divert  you  from  the 
clear  path  of  duty  that  lies  before  you.  It  is  the  very 
character  of  high  principles,  that  the  very  men  who 
hold  them  see  their  way  right  to  the  end,  they  see 
that  their  way  lies  athwart  hills  and  dales,  stony 
places  and  dreadful  deserts,  but  they  turn  not  either 
to  the  right  or  to  the  left, — they  travel  steadfastly 
throughout.  Yes,  Brethren,  and  this  is  the  very  thing 
we  must  do,  even  if  we  be  exposed  to  the  condemna- 
tion of  the  good,  even  if  those  who  are  in  the  bosom 
of  our  families,  and  whom  we  love  and  treasure  most, 
think  it  too  arrogant,  too  enthusiastic,  unreal  or  indis- 
creet; still  we  have  the  good  cause  entrusted  to  us, 
and  we  cling  to  it  with  a  holy  obedience  under  the 
advice  and  guidance  of  our  spiritual  guides.  Let  us 
beware  how  we  betray  it.  What  was  the  charac- 
teristic of  St.  Thomas  ?  It  was  that  he  set  at  nought 
the  judgment  of  men ;  it  was  that  God  grew  upon  him 
in  his  contemplation ;  that  God  grew  upon  his  soul 
more  and  more,  until  God  filled  his  soul,  and  there  was 
no  room  for  man,  no  room  for  human  respect,  no  room 
for  love  for  the  creature.  Wherever  he  turned,  there 
was  God  in  the  great  and  in  the  small,  and  therefore  he 
set  at  nought  the  judgment  of  men  and  exhibited  to 
the  world  that  special  characteristic  of  greatness,  that 
he  fought  for  little  things  as  diligently  as  he  had 
fought  for  great  ones ;  and  why  ?  Because  he  was  a 
saint  of  the  Most  High;  and  as  in  the  eye  of  God 
there  is  neither  great  nor  small,  so  in  the  eye  of  God's 
saints  nothing  is  small  that  contains  one  tittle  or 
fraction  of  high  principle ;  and  so  it  was  with  St 
Thomas.  There  were  little  things,  there  were  scruples 
Vol.  I.  -  Z 


354  PART  HI. 

that  might  seem  matters  of  etiquette  or  indifference, 
that  might  be  waived,  especially  when  a  king  and  his 
nobles  demanded  it ;  but  St.  Thomas  believed  that  in 
these  little  things  there  was  a  portion  of  the  same 
mighty  principle,  and  he  clung  to  them  with  as  much 
blessed  obstinacy,  with  as  much  holy  pertinacity,  as 
though  the  very  tiara  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  had 
been  at  stake.  It  is  this  very  thing  that  is  the  special 
note  of  greatness ;  and  in  it  lies  the  power  which  God 
has  of  not  dividing  things  great  and  small.  This  must 
be  our  example.  If  we  doubt  for  a  moment,  that  our 
weakness  is  strength ;  if  we  doubt  whether  or  not  this 
lesson  could  be  read  to  us  in  these  days, — look  not 
alone  to  the  picture  of  St.  Thomas  in  his  exile ;  but 
look  to  another  dear  and  blessed  exile  now ;  look  to 
our  Holy  Father  the  Pope,  exiled  from  his  sacred  city, 
driven  to  the  frontiers  of  another  land,  or  seeking  the 
refuge  of  a  foreign  shelter  in  a  seaport  of  his  own 
rightful  states.  Look  at  him,  and  in  your  heart  of 
hearts  do  you  not  believe  that  there  is  strength  in  our 
weakness.  Was  there  ever  a  time  when  the  throne  of 
Peter  was  more  firmly  rooted  in  the  affections  of  the 
faithful  throughout  the  world  ?  was  there  ever  a  time 
when  thoughtful  men,  even  outside  the  Church,  looked 
on  the  Vicar  of  God,  and  trembled  with  more  intelli- 
gent awe  than  they  do  at  the  present  moment?  aye, 
when  the  rebels  gathered  round  him, — even  as  the 
rebels  of  Nazareth  gathered  round  our  blessed  Lord, 
and  pursued  Him  to  the  very  cliff  on  which  their  town 
was  built, — behold,  God's  Vicar  passed  through  the 
midst  of  them,  and  their  eyes  were  holdeu  that  they 
could  not  see  him.  They  knew  not  how  or  where  he 
•vent,  because  God  was  with  him;  and  in  his  exile 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.  355 

there  went  with  him  all  his  strength,  and  all  his 
holiness.  And  at  the  present  moment,  who,  among  the 
enlightened  and  intelligent  of  our  holy  faith,  does  not 
see  that  the  sword  of  Peter  is  keener  and  sharper  in 
the  ever-blessed  exile's  hands  than  when  he  reigned 
within  the  walls  of  the  vast  Vatican  at  Rome?  This 
is  the  same  lesson  that  St.  Thomas's  exile  of  old  gives 
to  us.  Wait,  Brethren,  but  a  few  weeks,  or  months, — 
or,  if  God  wills  it,  it  may  be  years, — and  then  see  how 
woe  will  come  to  them  ;  how  bitter  and  dark  their  end 
will  be;  how  shameful  and  ignominious  the  life  of 
those,  whether  of  us,  or  not  of  us,  who  dare  to  raise 
the  whispered  voice,  or  the  stealthy  hand,  against  the 
majesty  of  Rome  in  this  her  hour  of  eclipse.  Wait 
and  see  if  this  comes  true.  His  word  is  law  now  more 
than  ever  it  was  before  ;  and  the  whisper  of  his  exiled 
voice  speaks  now  more  powerfully  to  every  loving  and 
loyal  heart,  than  all  the  bulls  and  briefs,  and  rescripts, 
that  he  issued  in  the  days  of  his  glory  and  his  power. 
And  should  there,  as  amid  the  apostles,  be  a  Judas,  who 
could  raise  the  whispered  voice  or  the  stealthy  hand, 
how  dark  and  bitter  will  be  his  end, — how  dark  and 
ignominious  his  fate ! 

No,  Brethren,  in  this  way  weakness  is  strength. 
Be  not  cast  down  because  ye  see  many  things  against 
us.  Look,  for  instance,  at  that  twin-spirit — that 
brother-saint  of  St.  Thomas,  the  sainted  Hildebrand. 
Look  at  Gregory  the  Seventh  passing  down  the  sunny 
shore  where  the  Vicar  of  God,  in  his  exile,  has  now 
passed  down — visit  the  city  of  Salerno  where  the  blue 
waves  beat  so  gently  against  the  shore,  and  where  all 
the  beauties  of  nature  are  gathered  together  to  make  a 
very  paradise  of  peace,  a  very  Eden  of  delights ;  and 


356  PART  III. 

go  and  see  that  lowly  tomb,  the  tomb  of  Gregory,  who 
fell  trampled  under  foot  in  exile,  but  whose  enemies 
died  in  the  very  hour  of  victory,  in  the  flush  of  triumph, 
so  broken  and  discomfited,  that  the  empire  of  sin  and 
darkness  never  rose  again. 

Yes,  my  Brethren,  so  it  ever  is  ;  weakness  is  strength. 
The  strength  of  Christians  is  in  the  cross,  and  the  cross 
was  a  weakness  and  a  shame  to  Him  who  hung  thereon ; 
and  yet  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  cried,  "  God 
forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Oh,  it  was  not  when  St.  Thomas 
was  in  his  magnificence — it  was  not  when  he  was  in 
his  glory  and  his  power — it  was  not  when  he  rode 
through  France  as  the  chancellor  and  ambassador  of 
England,  and  astonished  men  with  his  unheard-of- 
splendor — it  was  not  then  that  he  had  power — that 
power  which  lasts  to  this  moment — that  power  which, 
to  this  very  day,  is  thrilling  and  trembling  through 
every  nerve  and  vein  of  God's  universal  Church 
throughout  the  world :  it  was  not  then  that  that 
power  was  the  mightiest ;  but  rather  when  he  sank 
down  as  his  blood  flowed  on  the  hallowed  pavement 
of  Canterbury,  and  when  in  gentle  words  he  com- 
mended his  blessed  soul  to  God,  our  Lady,  and  St. 
Denis. 

Yes,  my  Brethren,  all  these  lessons  are  for  us.  We 
ought  to  work  hard,  and  yet  not  to  look  for  results. 
It  is  not  God's  way  ;  it  is  not  the  fashion  of  God's 
doing.  Think  how  many  times  the  trumpets  of  God 
were  sounded  round  the  walls  of  Jericho  ere  they  fell. 
We  ought  to  work  as  though  the  conversion  of  our 
native  land  was  at  our  very  doors,  and  yet  as  expecting 
nothing.  It  is  said  that  they  that  sow  shall  reap ;  but 


.  OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    357 

.blessed,  aye,  blessed  we,  even  if  we  never  live  to  see 
that  day  of  splendor  and  majesty  in  God's  Church. 
The  conversion  of  the  people  is  as  the  wind  blowing 
where  it  will ;  it  comes  and  goes  wheresoever  it  will. 
In  the  days  of  spring,  it  woos  out  the  green  leaves  here 
and  there  in  wanton  ways,  and  seems  to  have  no  ruling 
operation  :  so  is  the  working  of  God's  Spirit.  The  two 
things  that  we  have  to  lay  to  heart  are  gentleness  and 
kindness.  Forbearance  and  forgivingness,  gentle  and 
loving  words  and  affectionate  treatment,  and  above  all, 
a  secret  aiming  at  perfection  in  our  own  lives :  these 
are  our  missionary  weapons,  and  for  conversion  we  may 
be  content  to  wait. 

If  we  bear  this  in  mind  we  shall  not  lose  heart.  If 
to  look  out  upon  this  empire  in  its  unbelief,  its  sin,  its 
poor  deserted  priestless  multitude,  make  the  heart  sink 
within  us,  surely  it  is  not  a  scene  one  half  so  dark  as 
that  which  the  Queen  of  the  apostles  saw  when  she 
looked  from  her  window  over  Jerusalem,  and  over  the 
whole  expanse  of  heathenism  that  Jesus  had  given  her 
to  convert  unto  Him.  When  she  and  the  apostles 
looked  forth  on  that  scene,  it  was  as  Noe  looked  forth 
from  the  windows  of  the  ark  on  the  wild  and  angry 
waste  of  waters,  and  on  a  tempest-tossed  world ;  on  its 
green  things,  on  its  brightness,  on  its  sunshine. 

So  will  it  be  with  us,  if  we  only  try,  from  this  day 
forth,  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  love  and  devotion  to  that 
blessed  Saint  whose  feast  we  this  day  celebrate.  It  is 
said,  and  it  is  to  me  a  matter  of  love  and  interest,  that 
my  own  blessed  father  St.  Philip  Neri,  whenever  he  met 
in  the  streets  of  Rome  the  English  students  who  were 
gathered  together  beneath  the  shadow  of  St.  Thomas 
of  England,  always  saluted  them  in  his  own  playful 


358  PART  III. 

way,  with  the  words  of  the  Church's  hymn — "Salvete 
flores  martyrum."  And  think  you  that  he,  whose  every 
word  was  pregnant  with  meaning,  did  not  intend  to 
commend  to  them  the  imitation  of  that  blessed  martyr, 
under  whose  shadow  they  were  gathered  together? 

Yes,  Brethren,  we  must  have  devotion  to  St. 
Thomas,  because  he  is  the  apostle  of  high  principle. 
Devotion  to  St.  Thomas  must  be  an  instinct  with  us, 
even  as  hatred  of  Him  was  an  instinct  with  the  wicked 
men  in  the  wild  and  evil  days  of  English  apostasy. 
Why  did  they  hate  the  name  of  St.  Thomas?  Why 
did  they  tear  down  his  blessed  relics?  Why  did  they 
erase  his  name  from  the  calendar?  Why  did  they 
trample  his  sacred  memory  underfoot,  and  leave  the 
other  saints  of  God  to  go  free?  Why  but  because  he 
was  the  apostle  of  high  principle?  because  the  devil 
inspired  them  with  a  hatred  of  him  as  with  an  instinct, 
because  he  knew  that  the  Church  was  built  on  a  rock, 
and  that  all  the  power  of  evil  should  not  prevail 
against  it.  And  even  as  the  ashes  that  Moses  threw 
upon  the  banks  of  the  river  Nile,  brought  down  the 
hateful  and  degrading  plague  of  blains  and  boils  on 
the  children  of  men  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  so  have  the 
ashes  of  St.  Thomas,  scattered  to  the  winds  far  and 
wide,  brought  down  God's  curse  upon  the  land.  They 
have  brought  down  the  curse  of  littleness,  of  pusil- 
lanimity,— a  curse,  the  very  characteristic  of  which  is 
lowering  and  degrading,  even  as  the  curse  that  came 
down  on  the  Egyptians'  land.  We  must  cultivate  a 
special  devotion  to  this  mighty  saint  of  God.  We 
must  strive  as  he  strove,  in  all  gentleness,  in  all  love. 
We  must  grasp  his  principles,  and  grasp  them  firmly, 
even  as  the  soldier  grasps  the  weapons  with  which  he 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.     359 

charges  in  the  fight.  We  must  take  St.  Thomas  as 
our  model  and  our  pattern ;  and  if  it  be  that,  in  the 
intervals  of  his  weariness  and  strife  he  beheld  visions 
of  a  fair  land  of  peace,  beaming  with  tranquillity  and 
with  all  those  beauteous  and  gentle  things  spoken  of  in 
the  pages  of  the  Gospel;  if  there  be  a  time  when 
Heaven  seems  opened,  and  we  behold  a  land  where  all 
is  love  and  peace — no  warfare,  no  bickering,  no  chilling 
separation — a  land  where  all  are  crowned  kings  around 
the  throne  of  God,  singing  sweet  songs  of  everlasting 
praise ;  while  we  remember  that  there  is  such  a  land  of 
peace,  we  must  also  remember  it  is  not  here,  that  it  is 
not  now.  Think  you  that  St.  Thomas  loved  not  peace? 
Think  you  that  he  sighed  not  for  repose  as  much  as 
we  can  do?  Think  you  that,  in  the  recesses  of  his 
sacred  cell,  he  did  not  many  times  see  Heaven  opened, 
and  behold,  more  clearly  than  we  can  do,  bright  visions 
of  this  land  of  peace?  But  he  knew  it  was  not  here; 
he  knew  it  was  not  now ;  and  so  he  fought  his  way. 
Let  us  fight  our  way  as  he  fought  his.  Let  us  fight 
our  way,  and  we  shall  be  one  day  where  he  is  now. 
Oh,  it  is  sweet,  it  is  passing  sweet  to  the  spirit  to  think 
of  all  St.  Thomas  passed  through ;  it  is  sweet  to  think 
upon  the  change  that  came  upon  his  fortunes ;  the 
change  between  the  great  archbishop  striving  with  the 
powers  of  darkness,  and  the  saint  at  this  hour,  prostrate 
in  ineffable  transports  of  contemplation,  before  the 
majesty  of  the  most  High,  Holy,  and  Adorable  Trinity. 
Yes,  my  Brethren,  so  it  is.  His  peace-loving  spirit  is 
now  at  rest.  The  haughty,  imperious,  and  indignant 
word  has  been  subdued  into  a  song  of  Heaven.  The 
saint  needed  it  no  more ;  God  needed  it  no  more. 
Strife  has  passed  away  from  him,  even  as  a  thing  that 


360  PART  III. 

never  was,  and  he  is  now  canonized  throughout  the 
land.  Strife  has  passed  away  from  him  like  a  dream 
of  Calvary,  and  the  scorn  of  misjudging  men  like  a 
little  shadow  of  Gethsemane. 


IX. 
ST.  CHARLES. 

Men's  spirituality  depends  on  the  view  they  take 
of  God.  Now  the"  saints  seem  all  of  them  to  have 
concurred  in  taking  one  and  the  same  view  of  him  as 
the  God  of  the  Church.  We  find  this  in  St.  Paul's 
epistles,  and  even  in  the  writings  of  cloistered  mystics. 
There  were  others  whose  life  was  part  of  the  life  of  the 
Church. 
I.  So  St.  Charles. 

1.  He  was  part  of  the  life  of  the  Church. 

(1)  He  was  a  saint  of  fewer  peculiarities  than 

most  saints. 

(2)  His   personality  was  almost  merged   in  the 

Church:    he  had  nothing  new  to  teach,  no 
peculiar  spirit  to  communicate. 

(3)  He  left  fewer  things  said  than  most  saints  of 

whom  so  much  is  known. 

2.  He  was  a  reformer :    one  of  God's  reformers,  and 

so  his  example  is  full  of  lessons  to  all  men  in 
different  times. 
II.  In  these  two  things  we  find  his  fitness  for  our  times 

and  for  our  present  troubles. 
1.  The  state   of  the  Church  makes  it  needful  for 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    361 

the  lives  of  all  of  us  to  be  in  their  measure 
part  of  the  Church's  life.  The  state  of  the 
Church  must  give  us  the  character  of  our  piety  : 
it  must  be  in  us  the  cause  of  most  that  is 
spiritual  about  us.  It  is  not  a  question,  of 
politics,  of  historical  sympathies,  or  of  interest- 
ing opinion.  It  is  part  of  our  relation  towards 
God,  of  our  duties  to  Him,  and  of  our  worship 
of  Him. 

2.  When  God  punishes  us,  He  is  calling  upon  us 

to  reform. 

3.  Now   let  St.  Charles  teach  us  what  manner  of 

reform  we  must  aim  at. 

(1)  It  must  be  one  of  personal  holiness,  and  St. 

Charles  would  have  it  turn  especially  upon 
our  ordinary  actions. 

(2)  It  must  be  a  growth  in  profound,  universal 

humility,  a  constant  wonder  that  God 
should  bear  with  us — for  what  good  have 
we  done,  and  what  good  have  we  not 
spoiled  ?  Our  own  want  of  inward  purity 
and  of  generous  holiness — how  may  it  not 
explain  many  of  the  misfortunes  of  the 
Church  ? 

(3)  It  must  be  a  special  cultivation  of  simplicity, 

the  only  gift  which  God  seems  to  be  bless- 
sing  now,  from  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  down- 
wards. This  simplicity  will  lead  to  childlike 
obedience  of  the  intellect,  for  that  alone 
is  the  possible  or  practical  obedience  of 
most  men — and  to  self-denial,  and  so  will 
set  us  against  expensiveness  and  enable  us 
to  give  more  alms  to  the  poor — which  is  a 


362  PART  III. 

special   thing   to  do  in   dark   and   difficult 
times. 
III.  The  spirit  of  St.  Charles  should  be  our  spirit. 

1.  Eminently  a   spirit   of  faith,   believing   nothing 

impossible,  with  hatred  of  heresy,  and  with 
kindness  to  heretics,  which  is  mostly  in  pro- 
portion to  a  man's  hatred  of  heresy. 

2.  From   this   spirit   of  faith    came   his   two   char- 

acteristic graces,  fortitude  and  calmness.  His 
fortitude  seemed  to  go  beyond  prudence,  yet 
was  the  real  prudence  of  the  Gospel,  because  of 
his  faith. 

3.  Calmness — a  wonderful  feature  of  this  was  that 

he  seemed  hardly  even  to  deliberate.     He  was 
so  master  of  his  principles,  that  all  the  excite- 
ment of  plans  was  gone  from  him  :  how  like  in 
this  to  our  Lord  in  the  Gospels,  how  like  to 
God  in  the  adorable  simplicity  of  His  action. 
What  is  the  end  of  it  all  ?  intense  filial  love  of  the 
Church,  and  more  and  more  hungry  pining  after  God, 
and  yet  a  most  patient   cheerfulness,  a  most  serene 
confidence,  nay,  even  a  modest  elation  of  heart  and 
soul,  as  if  Jesus  was  for  ever  saying  in  our  ears,  with 
the  piteous  sweetness   His  Blessed  Voice   must  have 
had  that   last  Thursday  night — In  mundo  pressurdm 
habebitis :  sed  confidite,  ego  vici  mundum. — In  the  world 
you  shall  have  distress ;  but  be  confident,  I  have  over- 
come the  world.     (St.  John  xvi.  33.) 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.  363 

X. 

NOVENA  OF  ST.  PHILIP. 
1. 

SKETCH   OF  THE  SAINT'S   LIFE. 

All  lives  of  men  are  beautiful  in  their  changes  and 
vicissitudes,  all  full  of  romance  and  poetry :  or  like 
various  music,  a  quiet  pastoral,  a  stirring  march,  a 
pathetic  drama,  a  touching  elegy,  or  strains  of  mutable, 
fitful  sweetness.  Such  is  man's  life  as  outward  Provi- 
dence ordains  it :  sin  mars  it.  We  are  concerned  now 
with  a  life  lived  in  the  sixteenth  century  in  the  great 
city  of  Rome,  which  with  manifold  vibrations  is  working 
still  on  earth. 
I.  St.  Philip's  Picture. 

1.  The  aged  priest  for  the  most  part  ashy  pale,  not 

foreign-looking  to  us. 

2.  With  a  soft   mellow  sweetness  as  of  one  to  be 

familiar  with,  yet  with  a  sternness  underneath 
as  of  one  not  to  take  liberties  with. 

3.  Very  simple  and  childlike,  yet  with  a  depth  as  of 

one  who  knew  secrets  and  had  seen  visions.    We 
do  not  exactly  know  why,  but  as  we  look  on  him 
we  think  of  St.  Joseph. 
II.  The  Boyhood. 

1.  He  was  born  in  beautiful  Florence  on  the  eve  of 

St.  Mary  Magdalen.  The  gravity  and  sweetness 
of  his  childhood,  which  yet  was  not  without 
traits  of  humor  and  fun  and  geniality. 

2.  Gaeta — the  cleft  mountain — the  inheritance  re- 

nounced. 


364  PART  III. 

III.  The  beginnings  at  Rome. 

1.  He  was  drawn  there  by  instinct,  and  lived  there 

at  first  as  a  tutor  in  poverty  and  silence. 

2.  In  catacombs,  and  studying  in  moonlit  porticoes. 

3.  Receiving  pilgrims  and  visiting  hospitals. 

4.  Priesthood — St.  Girolamo — the  Seven  Churches — 

beginnings  of  the  Oratory — his  penitents. 

5.  The  Vallicella — and  the  Congregation  founded. 

IV.  The  sort  of  life. 

1.  Absence  of  all  singularity. 

2.  Miracles  daily,  and  ecstasies  almost  continually. 

3.  Apostolate  of  conversation  and  supernatural  out- 

breaks of  devotion. 

4.  He  silently  took  possession  of  all  Rome  as  a  per- 

fume fills  a  room. 

5.  After  eighty  years   he  dies.      And   this  life  so 

beautiful  on  earth  was  quietly  translated  to 
heaven,  to  be  continued  still  more  beautifully 
— and  on  earth  houses  rose  up  all  over  the 
world  to  catch  the  image  of  that  life,  and  to 
try  to  live  it  over  again,  and  everywhere  loving 
hearts  gather  round  these  houses  and  feel  instinct- 
ively a  joy  and  a  security  in  belonging  to  St. 
Philip. 

2. 

THK    LOOK   OF   COMMONPLACENESS   WITH  SUCH  A 
SUPERNATURAL   LIFE. 

Let  us  go  as  foreigners  to  Rome  in  the  sixteenth 
century  ;  it  is  full  enough  of  associations,  and  of  relics, 
and  of  shrines,  and  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  to  hide  in 
the  beauty  of  its  spiritual  brightness  a  thousand  living 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    365 

saints  as  completely  as  if  they  were  shrouded  in  the 
earthly  gloom  of  the  catacombs.  We  hear  talk  of 
Father  Philip,  and  listen,  and  go  to  see  him.  We 
write  home  what  we  have  seen  and  heard.  We  see 
him  in  his  room — the  vineyard — the  street. 
I.  The  look  of  his  life. 

1.  A  kindhearted  priest  with  much  zeal,  yet  some- 

what irregular  and  eccentric  in  his  zeal — 
otherwise  commonplace  enough. 

2.  He  has  joined  no  religious   order,  and  seems  to 

have  formed  no  extensive  plans. 

3.  He  is  shy  and  has  rather  to  be  sought  than  comes 

forward. 

4.  There  is  no  look  of  austerity  about  him — he  is 

rather  free  and  easy  and  jocund. 

5.  Surely  it  is  an  exaggeration  to  speak  of  him  as 

a  saint ;  for  there  are  no  secrets  about  him ; 
we  see  the  whole  of  him,  perhaps  a  man  to 
love  rather  than  revere.  Yet  we  left  him 
with  our  hearts  softened  and  heated  and  gently 
filled  with  God — undoubtedly  a  good  man,  a 
very  good  man. 

II.  The  reality  of  his  life. 

1.  His   heart    miraculously   filled    with    the    Holy 

Ghost:  his  ribs  broken. 

2.  His  Mass  of  five  hours  daily. 

3.  His  constant  reading  of  the  secrets  of  hearts. 

4.  Surrounded   with    light,   and    distilling   strange 

perfumes  of  some  aromatic  heaven. 

5.  Miracles  going  out  from  him  almost  like  ordinary 

actions,  and  his  living  without  food. 

III.  This    contrast   is   the   type   of  his  holiness:   the 

there  hidden  lives  of  Jesus,  divine  eclipsed  by 


366  PART  III. 

human,  glorious  by  passible,  holy  by  unaffected- 
ness — such  was  St.  Joseph's  holiness,  and  such 
St.  Philip's. 

1.  St.  Philip's  studious  pursuit  of  secrecy — he  risked 

scandal  rather  than  be  found  out. 

2.  His  looking  only  to  ends  and   not  to  means,  to 

God,  not  to  devotions,  &c. 

3.  His  finding  God  equally  or  even  preferably  in 

very  little  things. 

4.  His  meekness,  though  he  knew  he  was  going  to 

be  canonized. 

5.  Yet  it  was  the  very  wonderfuluess  of  his  sanctity 

which  caused  him  to  look  so  commonplace. 
Should  we  know  a  saint  if  we  met  one?  I  doubt 
it.  This  is  sad  to  think,  but  very  profitable.  How 
we  might  have  left  St.  Philip,  and  turned  down 
the  Banchi  toward  St.  Peter's,  and  thought  how 
commonplace  he  was,  how  he  talked  on  ordinary 
subjects,  how  careless  about  giving  edification,  what 
light  odd  things  he  said  for  a  grave  old  priest,  and 
what  a  sly  look  of  mischief  there  was  in  his  eye  when 
we  parted.  And  while  we  walked  and  thus  criticised, 
behold !  lie  in  the  secret  of  his  room  is  floating  in  the 
air,  waving  to  and  fro  like  a  branch  in  the  summer 
wind,  girdled  with  a  golden  light,  hearing  unutterable 
words  and  seeing  unutterable  things  down  deep  in 
God! 

3. 

HIS  SPIRIT  OF  LIBERTY  AND  ABSENCE  OP  METHOD. 

I.  All  saints  seem  to  have  given  scandal  in  their  day, 
St.  Philip  is  no  exception. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.  367 

1.  This  taking  scandal  at  saints  is  an  evidence  of 

corruption. 

2.  It  was  the  same  with  our  Blessed  Lord.     And  the 

world  never  learns ;    it   would   take  the  same 
'  amount  of  scandal,  both  in  amount  and  kind, 
if  He  came  again. 

3.  That  in  which  each  saint  gives  scandal,  is  his  char- 

acteristic peculiarity  ;  and  in  that  will  be  found 
to  consist  the  eminence  of  his  holiness  and  sanc- 
tity in  its  earlier  stages,  not  very  easily  distin- 
guishable from  eccentricity. 
II.  What  people  took  and  take  exception  to  in  St. 

Philip   is  his  liberty  of  spirit  and   absence  of 

method. 

1.  As  a  saint  in  his  own  life. 

(1)  He  was  long  years  in  Rome  and  yet  joined  no 

religious  order. 

(2)  He  took  all  his  steps,  as  direction  and  obedience 

suggested,  but  even  then  formed  no  great  or 
definite  plans. 

(3)  He  was  ready  to  give  up  his  works  at  any 

moment. 

(4)  His  own  spirituality  was  singularly  free,  and 

left  to  God's  action  on  him  day  by  day. 

2.  As  a  founder  and  superior. 

(1)  The  way  his  Congregation  grew  up  piecemeal. 

(2)  He  would  not  let  his  subjects  have  their  time 

to  themselves. 

(3)  He  would  not  have  vows  in  it. 

(4)  He  made  the  separation  of  each  house  essential, 

that  they  might  not  band  together  for  any 
common  •  end,  or  to  forward  any  definite 
views. 


368  PART  III. 

(5)  His  dislike  of  attachment  to  their  work  in  his 

subjects. 
3.  As  a  master  of  the  spiritual  life. 

(1)  Absence  of  set  rules  and  methods ;  each  day 

was  to  supply  its  own  materials. 

(2)  His  penitents  were  to  keep  in  their  own  spheres 

and  at  their  social  duties. 

(3)  His   little    interference   with    their   external 

things. 

(4)  His  spirit  of  prayer  so  full  of  liberty  as  to 

method. 

(5)  His  variety  of  direction  without  any  recogniz- 

able technical  peculiarity  of  his  own. 
III.  Two  schools  of  holiness  in  the  Church,  the  school 
of  captivity  and  the  school  of  liberty.    St.  Philip, 
like  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  singularly  of  the  latter. 

1.  It  came  from  his  immense  devotion  to  the  Person 

of  the  Holy  Ghost. .  Docility  to  inspirations  was 
to  him  instead  of  rule. 

2.  This  made  him  immensely  interior.     God  was  his 

one  demand  in  himself  and  in  others. 

3.  His    horror   of    mere    formality   and    habit,   or 

woodenness,  or  anything  cut  and  dry.  This 
made  him  negligent,  sometimes  startlingly  so,  of 
externals. 

Both  systems  are  holy ;  I  do  not  say  that  one  is  in 
itself  better  than  the  other ;  both  are  from  God.  But 
I  bless  God  that  He  has  given  to  His  Church  the  system 
of  liberty  as  well  as  that  of  holy  captivity ;  because 
I  feel  for  myself  that  I  never  could  be  spiritual 
on  the  captivity  system,  whereas  I  hope  that  I  may 
some  day  or  other  attain  to  spirituality  on  the  other 
system. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    369 

TV.  ]  Diving  with  St.  Philip  daily. 

1.  Meeting    his    clear    quiet    eye    every   morning, 

feeling  that  we  were  seen  through,  that  nothing 
was  unnoticed,  nothing  unremerabered. 

2.  Feeling  how  easily  and  also  how  deeply  pained 

he  could  be,  how  he  revolted  from  all  insincerity 
and  pretences. 

3.  Made    uncomfortable    by   feeling   that  we    had 

weaknesses,  he  had  not. 

4.  In  good  times  we  should  enjoy  it,  in  bad  chafe 

under  it. 

5.  His  sternness  would  grow   on   our  notice — and 

yet  his  sweetness  be  ever  gaining  more  empire. 

6.  Why  should  such  a  man   attract?     Because  we 

have  all  a  distrust  of  self  at  bottom — we  do  not 
like  standing  alone — life  is  a  grave  thing — we 
like  to  lean  on  some  one  of  whom  we  are  sure — 
and  in  sorrow  and  such  like  times  he  was  all 
sweetness  and  support. 


4. 

HIS   REALITY. 

I  do   not  think  that  any  devout   person  can  look 
long  on  St.  Philip's  picture  without  growing  somewhat 
afraid  of  him.     He  is  the  apostle  of  liberty,  and  yet 
somehow  not  a  man  to  take  liberties  with. 
I.  We  meet  with  men  in  the  world 
1.  Whom  we  admire  and  love — yet  are  not  at  ease 
with — feel   untruthful  with.     We  have   an  in- 
stinctive  fear  of  their  influence,  and   are  rest- 
less when  we  have  to  do  with  them. 
Vol.  I.  2A 


370  PART  III. 

2.  There  is  something  in  them  which  we  wish  away : 

and  yet  if  it  was  away  they  would  not  be  the 
same  men,  nor  should  we  ourselves  love  and 
admire  them  so  much. 

3.  It  is  their  reality — their  genuineness — their  truth 

— not  so  much  their  truthfulness  as  their  truth. 

II.  Keality. 

1.  A  real  man  is  a  man  without  secrets  or  diplomacy. 

2.  His  extreme  simplicity,   and    his  singleness   of 

purpose,  invest  him  with  a  kind  of  sternness, 
so  that  we  feel  rebuked  in  his  presence. 

3.  Yet  his  heart  is  always  full  of  gushing  sympathies 

and  kindness. 

4.  He  has   a  sort  of  impatience   with   foolishness, 

insincerity,  and  circuitousness. 

5.  He   sometimes  tries  us  by  the  way  he  keeps  to 

the  one  point,  and  slips  off  disguises,  and  walks 
on  such  a  very  straight  road. 

III.  To  live  with  such  a  mail  is  an  education  in  itself, 

and  this  is  just  what  St.  Philip  was.  I  dare  say 
sometimes  men  thought  him  even  wooden,  because 
he  was  so  pertinaciously  real,  never  unbending 
from  his  simplicity,  never  giving  his  genuineness 
a  holiday. 

.  1.  His  common  sense  in  plans,  in  government,  in 
direction  :  his  dislike  of  changes,  and  of  non- 
sense talked  in  the  confessional. 

2.  His    sternness    which     flashed     out    when    any 

insincerity  came  in  his  way,  or  any  making  of 
difficulties. 

3.  The  stress  lie  laid  on  perseverance,  by  which  he 

prevented  liberty  of  spirit  from  degenerating 
into  off-handness  and  free-and-easiness. 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    371 

4.  His  crusade  against  human  respect — the  queer 

things  he  did  himself  and  made  his  people  do. 
All  meant  nothing  more  or  less  than  this. 

5.  His  mortification  of  the  judgment  also  made  men 

real,  while  it  hindered  liberty  from  becoming 

license. 

Of  all  the  things  which  I  admire  in  our  Holy  Father 
I  admire  none  so  much  as  his  reality.  It  is  the  great 
want  of  the  times.  It  is  the  grace  of  all  graces  which 
we  every  one  of  us  stand  most  in  need  of. 


5. 
ST.  PHILIP'S  SPHERE. 

While  all  saints  do  all  the  good  they  can  find  to  do, 
each  has  a  sphere  peculiarly  his  own,  a  work  which 
peculiarly  belongs  to  him,  and  by  which  more  especially 
all  after  ages  will  know  him  in  the  Church.  Now  what 
was  St.  Philip's  sphere? 
I.  The  spheres  of  saints. 

1.  There  are  aggressive  saints  like  St.  Ignatius :  there 

are  also  inventive  saints. 

2.  There  are  revolutionary  saints  like  St.  Francis. 

3.  Historical  saints  like  St.  Athanasius — raised  up  to 

save  an  epoch. 

4.  There  are  reforming  saints  like  St.  Charles. 

5.  There  are  saints  who  perfume  the  Church  like 

sufferers  and  contemplatives. 

6.  How  St.  Philip  had  an  element  of  all  these  saints 

in  him. 
II.  His  choice  of  a  sphere. 

1.  He  was  not  allowed  a  foreign  missionary  field. 


372  PART  III. 

2.  He  sent  many  into  religion,  but  did  not  enter  it 

himself. 

3.  His  associations  and  instincts  were  all  for  prim- 

itive times  ;  not  for  mediaeval  saints,  who  would 
hardly  allow  salvation  out  of  the  cloister ;  nor 
for  modern  ideas,  which  refused  perfection  out 
of  convents. 

4.  St.  Philip  took  the  world;   took  pity  on  it,  and 

taught  that  men  and  women  might  live  in  the 
world,  and  be  as  perfect  as  the  highest  saints. 

III.  How  he  exemplified  this. 

1.  In  his  dislike  of  change — home  is  not  the  world,  as 

convent  people  say  it  is. 

2.  In  his  stress  laid  on  the  heart — so  like  a  thorough 

Scriptural  saint! 

3.  In  founding  his  Congregation  for  the  help  of  those 

in  the  world. 

4.  In  his  wideness  of  spirit  admitting  all  varieties 

and  even  opposites  of  goodness. 

5.  In  his  choice  of  great  cities  for  his  sons  to  work 

in. 

IV.  His  peculiar  attraction. 

I  observe  that  those  who  have  a  devotion  to  him 
mostly  have  an  enthusiastic  devotion.  Yet  they  can 
hardly  say  on  what  it  rests :  it  is  rather  some  nameless 
attraction  than  any  specific  grace  or  sweetness.  Also 
it  is  not  to  his  work,  or  to  his  grace,  but  to  himself— 
it  is  not  to  anything  of  St.  Philip's  but  to  St.  Philip. 
This  nameless  attraction  is  fitted  for  a  sphere  consisting 
of  such  diversified  materials.  It  is  justly  called  an 
attraction,  an  instinct,  a  spell : — it  draws  us  to  him, 
quietly  moulds  us — quietly  heats  us — quietly  changes 
us- -quietly  makes  us  all  for  God.  I  have  often 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.     373 

wondered  what  precisely  it  is,  this  nameless  charm, 
but  I  do  not  know.  We  feel  it — and  are  silent,  and 
our  hearts  fill  with  it,  and  we  are  happy  in  being  his 
children  and  at  his  feet : — and  somehow  all  he  does 
for  us,  and  all  he  does  in  us,  and  all  he  makes  us  do, 
and  all  the  liberty  he  gives  us,  and  his  loving  of  us, 
mid  his  frightening  of  us — all  somehow  brings  us  round 
to  God ! 


XI. 
FIRST  VESPERS  OF  ST.  PHILIP. 

All  God's  works  come  to  an  end,  and  for  the  most 
part  their  end  is  more  beautiful  than  their  beginning; 
and  the  end  is  often  the  beginning  of  a  more  heavenly 
and  eternal  beauty.  How  true  this  is  of  the  deaths  of 
the  saints. 

The  feeling  in  the  morning  all  through  the  house, 
and  then  all  through  Rome,  when  St.  Philip's  death 
was  known.  What  it  must  have  been  to  have  lived 
with  a  saint ! 

I.  As  if  the  end  of  the  world  was  come ;  what  next? 
there  is  no  next !  He  had  grown  into  the  habits 
of  men's  lives ;  and  yet,  though  warned  in  every 
way,  they  found  themselves  unprepared. 
II.  His  ways,  his  words,  his  looks,  his  haunts,  all  grow 
vivid  and  into  a  unity  to  them  ;  they  begin  to 
understand  him. 

[II.  Hence  they  want  him  most,  now  that  he  is  gone ; 
to  whom  are  they  to  go  to  confession?  How 
are  they  to  do  without  his  room,  now  become 


374  PART  III. 

like  a  sacrament  to  them?  He  has  been  so 
quietly  necessary  to  them,  that  it  is  incredible 
he  should  be  gone.  They  feel  as  if  they  also 
should  have  died  with  him,  for  how  can  they 
go  on? 

IV.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  a  growing  joy  makes  itself 

felt  in  their  hearts.  The  joy  comes  from  within, 
and  without  any  apparent  natural  cause. 

V.  They  see  him  on  his  bier  in  church,  and  as  he  gave 

light  and  perfume  in  his  life,  so  he  gives  light  and 
sheds  sweet  odors  down  on  the  souls  of  those  who 
kneel  there.  It  is  the  light  of  God,  the  sweet 
odor  of  Jesus  Christ. 

VI.  Spiritually  he  will  continue  to  give  this  light  and 

to  shed  this  perfume  in  our  souls  in  an  especial 
manner  on  his  feast-day  year  by  year  until  Jesus 
comes  to  Judge  the  world. 

He  has  many  places  to  look  to  this  evening,  many 
Oratories  to  bless  with  his  paternal  benediction ;  many 
hearts  to  touch  with  his  love,  many  benefactors  of  his 
Congregations  to  enrich  with  especial  graces ;  many 
souls  to  fill  with  his  light  and  perfume :  but  the 
Blessed  can  do  all  these  things  quietly  in  God.  I 
feel  that  his  light  and  perfume  are  coming  to  us  here. 
By  the  light  we  see  God  and  the  shores  of  the  Eternal 
Land  more  plainly.  By  the  perfume  we  lose  more 
and  more  of  our  relish  for  earthly  things  and  are 
secretly  drawn  to  Jesus.  O  St.  Philip,  St.  Philip! 
my  Father  and  my  Master !  how  fair  is  that  light,  and 
how  peculiar  is  the  fragrance  of  that  perfume!  Sweet 
light  of  St.  Philip !  oh  that  we  may  always  walk  by  it ! 
Sweet  perfume  of  St.  Philip!  oh  that  it  may  always 
cling  about  our  souls  like  a  sensible  presence  of  our 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    375 

Blessed  Lord !     Father,  be  not  afraid,  do  not  doubt  we 
will  come  to  thee  in  Paradise ! 


XII. 
ST.  PHILIP'S  DAY. 

I.  For  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  years  St.  Philip 
has  been  looking  upon  the  Face  of  God :  he  has 
never  wearied.  It  is  ever  new ;  the  years  have 
sped  silently  away ;  they  have  not  been  like 
years ;  no  springs  or  autumns,  no  winters  or 
summers;  there  has  been  the  calmness  of  eternity. 

1 .  How  much  the  world  has  gone  through  since,  and 

his  own  favorite  Rome. 

2.  His  own  work,  how  it  has  lasted  and  spread — and 

to  how  many  souls  it  has  gone ! 

3.  Does   not  the  thought  of  him,  and  of  his  calm 

looking  upon  the  Face  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity 

this  day,  make  us  long  for  heaven.     The  times 

are  evil — that  makes  us  long  for  heaven.     We 

are  evil  ourselves,  we  are  wearied  of  our  own 

foolishness — oh  how  we  long   for   the  security, 

the  peace,  the  truth,  the  charity  of  heaven !     Oh 

yes !  most  of  all  for  the  charity  of  heaven. 

II.  But  there  are  lives  on  earth  which  have  a  look,  a 

feeling,  a  fragrance  of  eternity  about  them.    This 

was  quite  a  distinguishable  characteristic  of  St. 

Philip's  life. 

1.  How  his  years  were  like  eternal  years — so  still, 
so  swift,  so  calm,  so  like  each  other. 


376  PART  III. 

2.  Full  of  crosses,  yet  no  ripples,  no  rufflings,  no 

sounds  at  all — it  was  too  deep. 

3.  He  was  called  an  apostle — think  o'f  Roman  roads 

and  hurrying  toil — he  in  his  room  for  the  most 
part,  or  in  quiet  churches,  or  leisurely  pacing 
the  streets  of  Rome:  he  stationary,  and  Rome 
flowed  by  him,  touched  at  him  as  at  a  harbor, 
and  went  on  all  controlled  by  him. 

4.  Yet  he  was  like  an  apostle  in  his  love  of  the 

primitive  times,  and  early  Christian  life ;  hence 
his  simplicity,  his  unity — he  kept  aloof  from 
the  world,  yet  exercised  an  almost  ubiquitous 
influence,  through  his  simplicity  and  his  love. 
People  told  him  he  might  influence  it  more  by 
leading  a  more  public  life.  No !  he  knew  his 
place ;  he  had  ascertained  his  calling :  he  was 
stationary,  like  eternity. 

5.  His  unity  was  like  eternity.     He  had  only  one 

thought,  only  one  secret,  only  one  way,  only 
one  work :  to  make  God  dearer  to  men,  and 
that  in  direct  ways,  not  in  indirect,  however 
excellent.  Hence  his  success,  hence  that  re- 
markable, and  it  would  have  seemed  so  unlikely, 
oracle  of  the  Church,  which  authoritatively 
conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  Apostle  of 
Rome.  Is  it  not  strange  ?  An  apostle  shy  and 
hidden,  keeping  out  of  people's  way,  shunning 
every  kind  and  shape  of  notoriety;  a  light 
whose  power  was  in  its  being  wellnigh  in- 
visible. 

III.  How  did  he  work  upon  his  times?  What  did 
he  tell  people  to  do?  His  times  were  bad,  as 
ours  are :  and  he  was  raised  up,  remember,  to 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    377 

be  the  apostle  of  his   times  in  the  centre  and 
capital  of  all  Christendom. 

1.  The  things  he  did  not  do ;  yet  other  saints  had 

done  them. 

(1)  He   never  went   the   world's  way,  nor  bor- 

rowed its  methods,  however  good  or  pro- 
mising or  lawful  they  might  be. 

(2)  He  preached  no  reforms,  but  the  secret   re- 
forms of  single  souls. 

(3)  He   founded   no   intellectual  school   of   phi- 

losophy or  theology. 

(4)  He  stood  aloof  from  all  political  movements, 

or  views,  as  things  not  to  his  purpose.  In- 
deed I  cannot  fancy  St.  Philip  having  any 
views;  his  whole  soul  was  in  the  Church; 
his  views  were  not  views,  they  were  faiths, 
principles,  obediences. 

(5)  He   attacked   nothing,  unless  indeed  it  were 

sin,  frivolity,  worldliness,  and  the  reluctance 
of  rich  people  to  give  large  alms ;  not  even 
did  he  attack  dress  or  expensiveness,  in- 
tensely as  he  hated  both  the  one  and  the 
ather. 

2.  What  did   he  tell   people  to   do?     Oh  strange 

foolish  wisdom  of  the  Gospel ! 

(1)  To  keep  in  their  own  places,  and   attend  to 

their  ordinary  actions,  avoiding  change, 
avoiding  excitement. 

(2)  To  be  exceedingly  simple,  and  "not  to  mind 

criticisms  and  talk.  If  you  are  devout  to 
St.  Philip,  he  will  give  you  the  grace  not  to 
care  what  people  say  of  you — and  is  not 
that  perfect  happiness? 


378  PART  III. 

(3)  To  be  always  reading  the  lives  of  the  saints, 

because  that  makes  an  atmosphere,  and 
excludes  worldliness  without  trouble. 

(4)  To  pray,  frequent  the  sacraments,  and  hear  a 

great  many  sermons. 

(5)  To  love  everybody,  to  praise  everybody,  and 

to  find  good  in  everybody.  And  all  this 
because  of  the  one  mastering  thought  and 
sovereign  love  of  God. 

What  was  there  wonderful  in  all  this?  Was  it  not 
strangely  commonplace,  for  a  saint  in  whose  broken 
heart  the  Holy  Ghost  dwelt  supernaturally,  and  who 
was  the  recognized  Apostle  of  great  Rome?  Yes !  this 
was  wonderful, — that  he  kept  to  it,  that  he  mixed 
nothing  else  with  it,  that  he  added  nothing  else  to  it, 
that  he  persevered  in  this  bare  singleness  of  purpose. 
This  is  in  my  eyes  a  greater  miracle  than  we  read  in 
any  of  the  lives  of  the  saints. 

See  then,  brethren,  to  what  a  conclusion  we  have 
come!  The  saint,  who  had  the  Holy  Ghost  in  his 
miraculously  dilated  heart,  is  the  most  commonplace 
of  saints;  yet  he  is  also  the  most  peculiar  and  in- 
dividual of  saints,  because  of  the  persevering  simplicity 
of  his  commonplaceness.  Oh  how  much  there  is  to 
learn,  how  much  to  learn  of  God  and  Jesus  Christ  in 
this  one  fact  that  St.  Philip  became  the  Apostle  of 
Rome,  a  second  Peter  and  a  second  Paul  in  his  one 
self,  through  the  mere  perseverance  of  his  enthusiastic, 
unadventurous  simplicity ! 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    379 

XIII. 
ST.  FRANCIS  XAVIER* 

Work  your  work  before  the  time,  and  He  will  give 
your  reward  in  His  time.     (Ecclus.  li.  38.) 

No  scene  in  history  is  more  significant  than  the  few 
apostles  with  the  world  before  them. 
I.  Character  of  our  own  age. 

1.  It  is  an  age  of  enthusiasms;  partly  material,  and 

partly  intellectual :  concern  ing  science,  commerce, 
discovery. 

2.  The  impossible  seems  almost  fading  out  of  view ; 

what  a  lesson  the  world  is  reading  to  us. 

3.  Why  not  an  enthusiasm  all  for  God?   a  sober, 

steady,  business-like  enthusiasm,  like  the  mate- 
rial one  we  see  around  us. 

II.  Lesson  of  St.  Francis  Xavier's  life. 

1.  What  one  man  can  do,  who  is  all  for  God, 

2.  Who  has  begun  with  sanctifying  himself, 

3.  And  who  then  keeps  within  his  own  appointed 

sphere. 

4.  The"  sobriety   of   his    enthusiasm    kindling,  not 

stifling,  his  fervor  is  the  wonder. 

5.  It  is  a  characteristic  of  true  enthusiasm  to  neglect 

no  means  of  grace. 

6.  Now  living  in  an  unbelieving  country  is  a  means 

of  grace  both  to  ourselves  and  others. 

III.  We  are  all  missioners,  and  England  is  our  Japan. 

Let  us  convert  it. 
1.  By  example. 

*  Preached  at  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Farm 
Street. 


380  PART  III. 

2.  By  sweetness,  yet  by  gravity  in  our  sweetness. 

3.  By  incessant  prayer. 

4.  By  works  of  mercy  to  others. 

5.  By  union  and  absence  of  jealousy  among  our- 

selves;   for    what    the    world    envies    is    our 
union. 

6.  By  holiness,  which  is  a  power  and  an  attraction 

beyond  all  others. 

When  we  look  at  the  map  of  the  world,  and  see  the 
countries  which  St.  Francis  overran,  when  we  think  of 
the  thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  those  whom 
he  baptized,  when  we  weigh  up  his  difficulties,  count 
up  his  failures,  follow  him  in  his  toils  and  learn  sympa- 
thetically to  estimate  his  disappointments,  we  are 
amazed,  and  humbled  and  gladdened  also  while  we  are 
amazed,  to  think  how  much  one  man  can  do,  to  whom 
nature  gives  an  enthusiastic  loving  heart,  and  grace 
the  magnificent  gift  of  being  simply,  always,  and  only 
—All  for  God ! 


XIV. 
THE  FEAR  OF  THE  SAINTS. 

Meddle  not  with  the  names  of  saints.  (Ecclus. 
xxiii.  10.) 

The  reason  of  unanswered  prayer  and  of  inefficacious 
devotions  is  the  want  of  more  fear.  This  applies  very 
much  to  our  devotion  to  the  saints. 

Our  view  too  often  is  that  they  lived  holy  lives, 
worked  miracles,  have  gone  to  God,  are  crowned  kings 
in  heaven,  and  are  now  conveniences  to  us  as  additional 


OUR  BLESSED  LADY  AND  THE  SAINTS.    381 

means  of  grace,  and  doubtless  are  fresh  ornaments  of 
heaven.     We  do  not  fear  them. 

But  there    are    motives  for  other    devotion    than 
this. 

I.  How  majestic  a  saint  is  in  himself.     Great  holiness 

is  a  thing  to  fear. 

II.  The  greatness  of  his  power  and  glory  in  heaven. 

III.  The  honor  of  God,  which  is  deeply  implicated  in 

the  worship  paid  to  the  saint. 

IV.  In  some  sense  He   is  more  jealous  of  it  than  of 

His  own  ;  less  patient  of  levity  with  them  than 
with  Himself,  and  frequently  punishes  persons 
for  this. 

V.  The    saints    themselves    have    also    entered    into 

the  dispositions  of  God,  and,  with  a  sort  of 
vindictive  holiness,  hard  for  us  in  our  present 
state  to  understand,  resent  familiarities  and 
impertinences.  We  regard  them  too  much 
as  on  our  side,  to  get  things  from  God  for  us. 
Some  saints  have  shown  this  vindictiveness 
more  than  others. 

VI.  Faith  is  the  chief  ingredient  in  a  true  devotion  to 

the  saints ;  faith  in  the  reality  of  their  power, 
and  of  their  relationship  towards  us.  It  is  a 
great  sign  of  a  man  being  supernatural  when 
he  fears  to  offend  a  saint. 

VII.  The  favors  of  the  saints  form  a  great  department 

of  the  Divine  mercies,  and  play  an  important 
part  in  the  sanctification  of  holy  men.  Often 
the  punishments  of  the  saints  do  this  last  also ; 
and  this  is  especially  the  case  with  founders 
of  orders,  both  to  their  children  and  to  the 
enemies  of  their  orders. 


382  PART  III. 

VIII.  Weakness  of  prayer  is  one  of  the  feeblenesses 
of  our  times,  through  want  of  faith  and  fear : 
this  is  one  way  to  set  them  right.  We  always 
fear  those  in  whom  we  have  confidence.  We 
cannot  ever  put  confidence  in  those  whom  we 
do  not  in  some  way  fear. 

The  Church  expresses  the  old-fashioned  devotion  to 
the  saints  by  threatening  disobedience  to  Bulls,  &c  ,  with 
the  anger  of  the  holy  Apostles  SS.  Peter  and  Paul. 


INDEX. 


Acts  in  God,  50 

Adoration,  spirit  of,  5 — of  God's 
mercy,  14 

Age,  old,  loneliness  of,  193 

Agony,  the,  181,  351 

All  for  God,  38 

Alphonso,  St.,  232 

Ambrose,  St.,  352 

Angel  Guardian,  affection  for 
our,  322 

Angels,  creation  of,  315 — the 
Guardian,  320 

Angels,  the,  67 — eldest  of  crea- 
tures, 71— trialof,  72— behold- 
ing the  Passion,  207 

Anne,  St.,  297 

Annas,  257 

Apostle  of  Rome,  376 

Apostles,  the,  during  the  Pas- 
sion, 208 — ^desert  our  Lord, 
246— vocations  of,  247 

Arrears  of  the  wrath  of  God, 
343 

Ashes  of  St.  Thomas,  358 

Assumption,  the,  304,  305 

Astonishment,  one  of  the  chief 
joys  of  heaven,  288 

Athanasius,  St.,  371 — on  the 
word  Paraclete,  79 

Attraction  of  St.  Philip,  372 

Attributes  of  God,  7 — have  emi- 
nences inconceivable,  9 — as 
seen  by  the  blessed,  12 — mar- 
vellous, 43 

Austerity,  power  of  with  God, 
345,  347 

Barabbas,  243 


Beauty,  exterior,  of  Jesus,  190 
— interior,  191 — of  the  dying 
Face  of  Jesus,  267 — all,  is  the 
likeness  to  God,  289 

Benediction,  146 

Benignity  of  God,  22 

Bernard,  B.,  of  Corlione,  230 

Bernardine,  St.,  182 

Bethlehem,  115— star  of,  119 

Bethsaida,  pool  of,  303,  322 

Billuart,  56 

Blood,  the  Precious,  a  phrase 
which  St.  Peter  invented,  17 
— necessity  of  remembering 
the,  23— mystery  of,  250 

Blosius,  156 

Bonaventure,  St.,  on  the  Pas- 
sion, 281 

Bosom  of  God,  29,  43  —  our 
home,  119 

Boyhood  of  St.  Philip,  363 

Calmness,  143 — of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  152 

Calvary,  169, 211, 215— shadows 
of,  211— of  St.  Peter,  216 

Charity,  the  great  want,  102 

Charles,  St.,  360,  370— reform 
of,  361— simplicity  of,  361— 
spirit  of,  362 

Christmas  day,  114, 116 

Church,  the,  73 — spirit  of  the, 
309  — troubles  of,  339— cau- 
tions against  representing  her 
to  be  what  she  is  not,  349 

Columba,  B.,  of  Rieti,  266 

Comforter,  the  Holy  Ghost  the, 
79 

383 


384 


INDEX. 


Coming  to  God,  39 
Compassion  of  Jesus,  181 
Complaining,  the,  of  Jesus,  256 
Conception,    the    Immaculate, 
292— devotion    to,    295— pre- 
parations for,  296 
Concurrence,  the  divine,  59 
Condemnation,  none  for  those 

in  Christ,  162 
Conservation,  60 
Contempt  of  God,  185 
Converts,  120 
Creator,  the,  in  the  power  of 

His  creatures,  200 
Creation,  13 — might  have  been 
eternal,  56 — but  is  temporal, 
57 — in  a  state  of  grace,  62 — 
sprang  out  of  the  Incarna- 
tion, 70 — of  matter,  71 
Creatures,  eternally  possible,  56 
— rebellion  of,  at  the  Passion, 
200 

Crispin,  B.,  of  Viterbo,  95 
Cross,  shame  of  the,  184,  187 — 
stations    of    the,    266  —  the 
strength  of  Christians,  357 
Crucifix,  the,  meditations  on, 
232 

Delight,  the,  of  God  in  the  per- 
fections of  Mary,  290 

Descents,  seven,  of  the  soul  in 
the  deeps  of  the  Passion,  221 

Death,  a  great  change,  41 — lone- 
liness of,  194— of  Jesus,  218_ 

Dereliction  of  the  Father,  195 

Devotion,  a,  may  be  grounded  ' 
on  a  probable  opinion,  89 — to 
the  Passion  the  surest  sign  of  | 
predestination,  223  —  of  the  ' 
Stations  of  the  Cross,  266 — to  | 
St.Th'omas  of  Canterbury,  358 
—to  St.  Philip,  377 

Devotion  to  the  omnipotence  of 
God,  7 — makes  us  more  gen- 
tle, 8 

Devotion  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  87 
— of  Jesus,  77 — how  attaina- 
ble, 88— effects  of.  95 

Devotion  to  Mary  the  great  gift 
of  Jesus,  275 

Devotions  for  an  interior  life, 
124 


Disappointments  of  God,  21 
Discontent,  Christian,  44 
Dismas  and  Gesmas,  217 
Divinity  of  Jesus  in  the  Pas- 
sion, 201 

Docility  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  105 
Dolors  of    the    Passion,  182 — 

seven,  of  St.  Joseph,  331 
Dove,   a  symbol  of  the   Holy 
Ghost,  92 

Easter,  137 

Ecce  Homo,  175,  186,  202 
Eminences  of  the  HolyGhost,52 
Enfants  de  Marie,  308 
England  and  Judaea,  335 
Epiphany,    the,    119 — feast    of 

converts,   120  —  mystery  of, 

121 
Epochs,  the  three  of  the  Holy 

Trinity,  3,  4 — of  the  natural 

world,  72 

Evil,  the  circle  of,  197 
Excess  of  the  Passion,  172 
Exile  of   St.  Thomas,  350— of 

Pius  IX.,  354 

Face  of  Jesus,  163,  245 — during 

the  Passion,  245 
Faith  believes  incredible  things, 

17,  84— strength  of,  339 
Fall  of  the  Apostles,  248 
Father,  God  our,  27 
Faults  in  our  prayer,  6 
Fear  of  the  Saints,  380 
Fire,  God  a  God  of,  103 
Flax,  the  smoking,  28 
Foolishness,  the,  of  God,  132 
Forbearance,  the  Divine,  20 
Francis,  St.,  368 
Francis  Xavier,  St.,  379 
Freshness  of  Jesus,  153 
Fruits  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  82 

Gabriel,  St.,  321 

Gertrude,  St.,  86 

Ghost,  the  Holy,  47 — dwelling 
in  us,  49,  63 — End  of  crea- 
tures^S— in  the  Church,  73— 
sin  against,  73 — devotion  of, 
to  Jesus,-  74 — Spouse  of,  75 — 
the  soul,  and,  78 — in  the  Sac- 
raments, 80 — Inspirations  of, 


INDEX. 


385 


85,  105— Devotion  to,  87— 
seeming  waywardness  of,  92 
— contrasts  between  the,  and 
Jesus,  96— Docility  to,  105 

Gifts,  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  80— 
arrangement  of,  by  Isaias,  81 
— growth  of,  82 — gratuitous, 
84— of  God,  275— of  Jesus, 
276 

Glory,  order  of,  64 

Goodness,  83 

Grace,  sanctifying,  6 1 — order  of, 
61 

Graces,  gratis  datce,  85 

Gregory,  St.,  the  Great,  95 

Gregory  VII.,  St.,  352,  354 

Harvest  of  the  Gospel,  340 

Hatred,  horrible,  255 

Heart,  the  Sacred,  148,  150,  284 

Heart,  the  Immaculate,  291 

Heaven,  what  is,  286 

Hell,  belief  in,  23— all  want  to 

escape,  24 
Heresy,  66 — as  a  sin  against  the 

Holy    Ghost,    94 — a    protest 

against  the  Cross,  230 
Hierarchy,  the  angelic,  317,  318 
History  of  theTIoly  Ghost,  68 
Holiness,    impossible    without 

Mary,   282 — two    schools  of, 

in  the  Church,  368 
Home,  our,  in  God,  43 
Humility,  of  God,  304— of  St. 

Thomas  of  Canterbury,  347 

Ignatius,  St.,  at  Manresa,  86 — 
an  aggressive  saint,  371 

Imitation  of  Jesus,  284 

Incarnation,  the,  62 — how  affect- 
ed by  sin,  72 — eternal  plan  of, 
111 — specially  for  us,  284 

Incomprehensibility  of  God,  8  , 
—what  it  is,  10— St.  Teresa's 
devotion  to  the,  10 

Indiscretion,  slur  of,  347 

Indulgence  of  God,  26 

Indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
63,78 

Innocence  of  our  Lord,  241 

Inspirations,  85 — the  waste  of—  , 
90 — consequence  of  not  listen- 
ing to,  106  • 
Vol.  I. 


Investigations,  theological,  47 — 

effects  of,  48 
Instruments  of  the  Passion,  178 

Jacob's  well,  133 

Jerome,  St.,  on  the  Passion,  175 

Jesus,  predestination  of,  70 — 
devotion  of,  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
73— life  of,  in  the  Bosom  of 
the  Father,  111 — His  choice 
of  poverty,129 — prayerof,  130 
—  Mystery  of  His  being 
thought  inad,  131 — at  the 
well,  133— in  Limbus,  134— 
Easter  joy  of,  137 — perpetual 
freshness  of,  153 — tears  of,  159 
—first  sight  of  the  face  of,  163 
— beauty  of,  189 — before  Her- 
od, 191— Death  of,  218— Inno- 
cence of,  242 — silence  of,  243, 
251 — Face  of,  245 — complain- 
ings of,  257 — legacies  of,  264 — 
journeys  of,  269 — Trials  of, 
270— gifts  of,  276— depend- 
ence of,  on  Mary,  280 — seem- 
ing weakness  of,  351 — present 
in  the  B.  Sacrament,  298 

Jews,  the,  during  the  Passion, 
208,  251— the  cry  of  Blood, 
252— the  state  of,  335 

Joachim,  St.,  297 

Joseph,  St.,  116,  327— death  of, 
328  —  meditations  on,  330  — 
joys  of,  332— a  model,  334 

Joseph  of  Cupertino,  St.,  on  the 
loss  of  Judas,  250 

Journeys,  the  seven,  of  Jesus, 
269 

Joy  in  Heaven,  wherein  it  con- 
sists, 41 

Joys  of  Mary,  312— of  St.  Jo- 
seph, 332 

Judas,  248,  258 

John  the  Baptist,  St.,  335,  346 

Kingdoms,  the  three,  of  Jesus, 
299 

Kings,  the  three,  120 — charac- 
teristics of,  336— virtues  of,337 

Legacies,  the,  of  Jesus,  264 
Lent,  149 

Lidwine,  St.,  of  Schiedam,  266 
SB 


386 


INDEX. 


Life,  a  service,  28 — a  Godlike 
gift,  57 — always  a  happiness, 
58— of  Jesus,  a'life  of  love,  155 
—St.  Philip's,  363 

Likeness  of  God,  Mary  the,  288 

Limbus  63,  134 

Longanimity,  83 

Love,  so  little  given  to  God,  35 
— is  work,  36 

Love  of  God  for  our  souls,  30 — 
strangeness  of  the,  31 — not 
easily  wearied,  32 — of  Jesus, 

lOt} 

Love  of  Mary,  293 
Lucifer,  305 

Madness  attributed  to  God,  132 
Majesty  of  God,  20 
Martyrdom,  what  it  is,  58 
Mary,  tranquillity  of,  12— full 
of  mercy,  13 — bound  up  with 
Jesus,  75— sanctifications  of, 
91— Predestination  of,  112— 
beauty  of,  139 — during  the 
Passion,  207 — the  mother  of 
sinners,  277 — the  safety  of 
souls,279 — dependence  on,  281 
— measures  of  the  love  of,  285 
— magnifying  God,  286 — of- 
fice of,  286— God's  delight  in 
the  perfections  of,  290 — Im- 
maculate Conception  of,  292, 
205  — Assumption  of,  293  — 
love  of,  294— humility  of,  304 
— the  manifestation  of  the 
kingdom  of  grace,  306 — an  ex- 
emplification of  the  spirit, 
not  the  letter,  308— joys  of, 
312 

Mary  Magdalene,  St.,  140 
Mass,  the  first,  239— of  St.  Phil- 
ip, 366 

Maternity,  the  Divine,  295 
Matter,  creation  of,  71 
Mediocrity,  a  soul  of,  30 
Meditation  on  the  Angels,  315 
Men,  judgment  of,  despised  by 

St.  Thomas,  353 
Mercies  of  God,  18 
Mercy,  of  God,  12— ways  of,  13 
— God,  rich  in,  14 — a  mystery, 
17 
Michael,  St.,  worship  of,  321 


Mind    suffers   more   than   the 

body, 179 

Miracles  of  St.  Philip,  365 
Mission,  doctrine  of,  65,  76 
Mocking  God,  33 — what  it  is,  34 

— everything   except  a  true 

conversion,  35 
Modesty,  84 
More  for  God.  37 
Mother,  the,  and  her  many  sons, 

294 
Mysteries  of  God's  ways,  48 — 

of  the  Passion,  225 

Name,  the  Holy,  feast  of,  123— 
our  trust,  160 

Nativity,  the,  114 

Nature,  61 — Mary  in  the  king- 
dom of,  287 — inanimate,  289 
and  grace,  305 

Nazareth,  the  men  of,  189 

Neutrality  impossible  for  crea- 
tures with  regard  to  God,  60 

Nicodemus,  73 

Novatus,  85 

Novena  of  St.  Philip,  363 

Obligations,  our,  to  Jesus,  283 
Oils,  the  holy,  73" 
Omnipotence  of  God,  devotion 

to,  7 
Opinion,  probable,  a  ground  for 

a  devotion,  89 
Oratory,  spirit  of  the,  96,  99— 

beginnings  of,  364 
Ordinations,  74 

Paganism,  72 

Paraclete,  the,  79 

Passion,the,169 — mystical  char- 
acter of,  171 — bodily  pains  of, 
175  —  instruments  of,  178 — 
mental  sufferings  of,  180 — 
shame  of,  184,  187 — solitari- 
ness of,  193 — spectators  of,  197 
— ever  living  in  the  Church, 
211 — an  attraction,  212 — in 
the  active  and  contemplative 
life,  212,  213— the  grand  ob- 
ject of  devotion,  224 — effects 
of,  in  the  world,  228 — our  de- 
votion through  the  year,  262 

Pater  Paupcrum,  127 


INDEX. 


387 


Pater  Noster,  the,  130 
Patience  of  God,  11,20 
Penance,  necessity  of,  22 — for 

devotion  to  the  Passion,  268 
Pentecost,  76,  101 
Person  of  Jesus  Christ,  126 
Philip,  St.,  87— heart  of,  105, 

125,  378— Novena  of,  363 
Philip  Benizi,  St.,  232 
Pilate,  242,  250 
Pilgrimages,  266 
Poor,  the  favorites  of  God,  127 

— consolations  of,  128 
Pontigny,  351 

Pope,  infallibility  of  the,  66 
Poverty,  the  choice  of  Jesus,  129 
Practices,  devotional,  in  honor 

of  our  Guardian  Angel,  325 
Prayer  for  sinners,  301 
Predestination,  of  Jesus,  71 — of 

Mary,  292 
Principles,  the  three,  of  human 

life,  11— strength  of  high,  350 
Procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 

47,  51— eternal,  52 
Protestantism,  336 
Punishment,  eternal,  23 
Purgatory,  164 

Quarant'  Ore,  the,  149 
Queen,  the  Immaculate,  298 

Raphael,  St.,  322 

Heed,  the  bruised,  24 

Religion  must  be  taken  as  God 
has  revealed  it,  24 — what  ours 
ought  to  be,  104 

Repentance  grows  harder  by  de- 
lay, 40 

Respect,  human,  a  tyranny,  28 

Resurrection,  the,  134,  140 — 
victory  of,  135 — a  mystery  of 
calmness,  143 

Rome,  laid  waste,  338,  339 

Rosary,  the,  307 — the  testament 
of  "Mary,  308 

Sacrament,  the  Blessed,  147 — 
happiness  of  Jesus  in,  157 — 
is  Jesus  Himself,  161 — con- 
nection of,  with  the  Passion, 
170 

Saints,  aggressive,  371 

Salerno,  355 


Sanctifications  of  Mary,  75,  91 
Salvation,  246 
Salvete  flares  martyrum,  358 
Satan,  how  men    become    his 

property,  28 

Scalza,  Ven.,  Paola  Maria,  176 
Scandal,  367 
Scourgings,  the,  177 
Secrecy,  of  God,  9 — object  of  St. 

Philip,  366 

Serafina  de  Dio,  Ven.,  96,  99 
Service,  life  a,  28 
Shame  of  the  Cross,  184 
Silence  at  the  Passion,  251 — of 

our  Lord,  256 
Sinners,  praying  for,  301 
Sins,  262 

Sleep  of  Jesus,  179 
Solitude,  193 — of  the  Passion, 

194,  195 

Sorrow,  nature  of,  159,  160 
Sorrows,  the  Man  of,  221 
Soul,  each,  separately  loved  by 
God,  31 — beauty  of,  in  a  state 
of  grace,  136 — of  Jesus,  trials 
of,  196 
Souls,  perishing,  38 — Mary  the 

safety  of,  279 

Spectators  of  the  Passion,  206 
Spouse  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  75,  77 
Stations  of  the  Cross,  266 
Stigmatization,  214 
Stupidities  well  meant,  21 
Success,  a  perpetual  struggle,  28 
Sufferings,  unknown,  of  the  Pas- 
sion, 173 
Sword  of  Peter,  355 

Talking  a  source  of  sin,  6 

Taste  for  God,  41 — a  magnifi- 
cent grace,  42 

Tears  of  Jesus,  159 

Temperance,  84 

Teresa,  St.,  devotion  to  the  in- 
comprehensibility of  God,  10 
— on  seeming  faults,  26— -de- 
votion of,  to  St.  Joseph,  334 

Thomas,  St.,  of  Canterbury,  312 
— his  hatred  of  meanness,  341 
— in  the  court,  342 — in  strife, 
347 — humility  of,  348--  in  ex- 
ile, 350 — despised  men's  judg- 
ment, 353 — devotion  to,  358 


388 


INDEX. 


Tongue,  sins  of  the,  236 
Touch  of  God,  42 
Thief,  the  impenitent,  198 
Thomas,  St.,  318 — on  creation, 

56 

Thorns,  the  Crown  of,  260 
Transformation  of  the    whole 

man,  the  work  of  the  Passion, 

214 

Trinity,  the  Holy,  3,  50,  76 
Truth,  not  men's  but  God's,  349 

Uncreated,  threshold  of  the,  65 
Union  with  God,  in  the  order 
of  nature,  61 — of  grace,  61 — 
because  of  the  Incarnation, 
62 — special  work  of  the  In- 
carnation, 63 

Varani,  B.,  Battista,  182,  184 
Via  Dolorosa,  176,  189,  191 
Victory  of  the  Resurrection,  135 
Vision,  the  Beatific,  the  cause 


of  our  not  sinning  in  heaven, 
5 — during  the  Passion,  204 
Vocation  of  the  Apostles,  247 

Ways  of  mercy,  13 

Weakness.the  strength  of  Chris- 
tians, 351,  354 

Weariness,  153 

Well,  Jacob's,  133 

Will  of  God,  327 

Words,  the  Seven,  216 

Works,  the  divine,  12 

World,  the,  how  viewed  by 
saints,  117 

Worship  of  Mary,  287 

Wounds,  the  Five,  256 

Years,  the  thirty-three,  73 — all 
Christian  life  like,  97 — were 
a  passion,  172 — Face  of  Jesus 
in,  245 

Years,  the  sixty-three,  of  Mary, 
309 


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